The Ghost and The Eagle
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: The Master Chief's life was filled with the harrows of war, loss of comrades, allies and friends. The Enterprise's service was wrought with much the same, with the losses sustained by the Eagle Union's Carriers during the early days of the Siren War being the most painful. Where these two would meet was a very familiar place to both:The Battlefield. And a bond will be forged.
1. Prologue:Kansen Infinity

_The Universe is a dangerous place, whereupon many stories told once are lost to the darkness of Space. _

_In one Universe, a War Hero fights for survival alongside his friends, in a desperate bid to save his homeland and allies from another emerging threat._

_In another, the oddity of technology rears its head as Warships and Alien creatures battle each-other on the surface of our homeworld. _

_Today, one such story may bring together these two universes and their Heroes under the shade of a looming war... _

_He was asked a question once:Who was the Machine?_

_She asked herself if War would ever change..._

_Both were to be answered_ today...

* * *

The brewing storm overhead only served to worsen Enterprise's suspicions of a possible Siren presence. The white-haired, lilac-eyed beauty of the Eagle Union's carrier fleet moved at best speed with her escorts through the mist and rainfall, in her communication systems echoing a broken-up Distress signal broadcast over broadband Radios... So much so that she had no doubt that the Crimson Axis had heard it too. Her gaze shifted to her right, to see the small, nimble Destroyers acting as her escort moving closer.

Laffey approached Enterprise, to which the Carrier kansen simply spoke "We're nearing the location of the Distress beacon. Be ready for anything." and receiving a nod from the little one. Following her were Hammann and Aulick, now forming a wedge ahead of the main battle group... Enterprise's gaze then shifted back, for her to catch sight of the blue-wearing Pennsylvania and Arizona.

"Any luck with your scouting party, Enterprise?" Penn asked, approaching the Flagship of the Eagle Union fleet.

"Storm's getting worse! I had to call them back, but they haven't returned!" The Carrier responded promptly. "I don't know if they crashed because of high wind, or..."

"Nearing target area! No air radar contacts!" Hammann reported "Though I'm detecting... Uh, Enterprise!?" she looked back as she slowed her speed to match Enterprise's, before pointing forward to silhouette sitting in the waves, cradling... What looked like an armored giant. The silhouette's riggings were unlike anything that Enterprise had seen before... They weren't Siren by design, but... Three black prongs hanged above her head, like extra arms. They were heavy, reinforced... And ended in gun barrels. Around her, dark armor plating presented multiple smaller gun batteries and, on her personage, instead of a uniform, was a black armor set with an enclosed helmet... Enterprise could only tell this was a _her _and _much more _a Kansen because of the shape of her black bodysuit.

The woman ground to a halt as ten smaller contacts appeared, clad in similar armors and with similar gearing to the Kansen ahead. Their silhouettes emerged, fast and high. They landed in front of the Eagle battle group, two of the girls holding up each another pair of their 'sisters'. The smaller vessels, Frigates, going by their design, pointed long rail rifles at the Eagle Union fleet, to which the Battleships and destroyers raised their own weapons in greeting.

Enterprise stepped up in front of the Battle Groups and said "At ease! We're not here to harm you! We got your distress signal!"

"Girls..." The armored woman behind the 10 Frigates spoke. "This is a first contact scenario. We need their help..."

The girls capable of holding up their guns did as would be believed, lowering those strange rail rifles and stepping back, to allow Enterprise room to go between them... She showed her escort to lower their weapons, watching as the futuristic-utilitarian-looking vessels stared at her. She found herself standing face to face with the armored figure... A kneeling warship of enormous firepower, with missile tubes, superheavy cannons and point-defense to rival an entire Union Battle Fleet. However, some of her rigging and gear was severely damaged... Heat-scarred... And her armor missed pieces. A left shoulder plate, gone, a helmet visor, cracked...

And she was kneeling. Her strange engines, from what Enterprise could see, were damaged and flickering... And weren't propellers. In fact, none of the 11 girls here had propeller-based propulsion, instead seemingly relying on some other hyper-advanced tech... Enterprise noticed the woman in armor cradled another giant... His orange visor shined once as lightning flashed...

Enterprise knelt in front of the future Kansen, then placed a hand on her chest and said "I am the USS Enterprise... Carrier and Flagship of the Eagle Union Navy... Who are you?"

... Despite a hint of confusion in her movement, the Kansen soon answered "I'm UNSC Infinity... Designation INF-101, Super-Carrier, first of the Infinity-Class..." stunningly calm... She removed her helmet, to reveal wounds to her face, including heavy bruising on her left eye, that forced it to stay closed. She had blonde, straight and long hair and eyes of a deep blue.

"Who is that you're holding, Infinity?" The Carrier carefully inquired.

"SIERRA-117... A War Hero... Me and my girls only survived the collision with the planetary ocean because of him... I... I don't know what the hell hit us to cause..." She looked to herself and her girls, a bit worried "This... but it severely damaged us, including disabling propulsion and our shields. If it wasn't for the Master Chief, we'd probably all be sleeping with the fish right now."

"... He's a human." Enterprise supposed, slightly awed.

A very slight nod answered the woman... She nodded, then said "Very well... We'll get you and your girls out of here before the-"

"Radar Contact through the storm! I can't be too sure, ma'am, but I think it's them!" Hammann reported, readying herself for battle. Laffey mosed on and readied her gear sloppily, while Penn and Arizona prepped their heavy guns... A string of eight shells landed around the Kansen... And Enterprise froze as she saw a rigging she had heard of only in rumor appearing out of the mist of the rain, escorted by two hyper-advanced Destroyers... Probably of Siren design.

The blue-eyed blonde clad in a black uniform that appeared held a stance of calm, a flag waving in her hand... Her voice was tough, but calm, as she spoke "USS Enterprise..."

"... KMS _Bismarck..." _The Carrier frowned, turning toward the Flag Ship of the Iron Blood Navy, who seemed to simply be standing there, her guns aimed at the entire battlegroup... The turrets of the shimmering Siren destroyers traversed, aiming for them. And Infinity took pause upon seeing them... KMS Bismarck, USS Enterprise... Going by the design of the other ships around, she guessed the two Battle Ships escorting Enterprise and the smaller girls were Pennsylvania and Arizona.

"A shame we have to meet again under such conditions, Enterprise." The Iron Blood capital vessel spoke with a tone of sadness in her words.

"It's the way you chose to go forth when your people betrayed Azur Lane." She returned, leering at her two Siren escorts. "If you're here for Infinity and the others, I'm afraid you're out of luck..."

Bismarck stroked her chin, looking over the present group of ships, including those ships still standing from 'Infinity's' group... Letting out a deep sigh, she nodded to Enterprise, before raising her hand. The girls tensed, with Enterprise's hand tightening around her bow... She stopped to look at the turrets of the Siren boat duet retract. The Iron Blood ship looked to Enterprise, then noted "I know what my odds of getting out of this engagement _alive _are, Enterprise... I won't tempt fate a second time."

The Carrier took a less tense stance, watching as Bismarck lowered her turrets. "... I-"

Bismarck raised her hand "I was here on orders to recover the ship with you and whomever else may have landed with her, provided there was a _none-to-minimal _Azur Lane presence in the area... I could take a few destroyers, but even I know I can't take two Battleships, some of the most dangerous Eagle Union destroyers alive and the Grey Ghost herself... Much less whatever technologically superior Kansen _these _are." And she motioned to the Frigates.

She nodded to the Carrier, then looked to Infinity and said "You got..." She paused, sighing "You are lucky, Infinity." And with that, she turned and left, vanishing once again into the mist, with her two escorts... Hammann looked to a just-as-surprised Enterprise and asked her "What the heck just happened...?" with a bemused look on her face. Enterprise shook her head, then looked to the Infinity...

**_At Main Azur Lane Base..._**

As the storm raged on, the 11 UNSC ships and their Human ally had been brought home, to the massive port by Enterprise and her squadron... And as Enterprise took a step on land, her Rig soon morphed, vanishing off her back and transforming into the large ship form... Infinity followed Enterprise, under support from her Frigate escorts, under watch. Infinity stumbled, nearly falling to the floor, as her rigging malfunctioned... It did not leave her body, whilst only some of the Stridents' did... And the awe-inspiring sight of 6 massive, alien-looking warships floating above the Bay was enough to draw forth a crowd of other ships...

Enterprise approached Infinity, to help her up, while the other ships helped move the man. He was stiff as a board and heavy as a pound of bricks to the Destroyers and even the Battleships, to the point all struggled as they hauled him. They set him down on dry land... By nearly dropping him hard enough to crack the dock's concrete... Infinity looked to the Chief, then whispered to one of her more healthy Strident Frigates to help him.

Enterprise turned upon hearing a pair of footsteps, to see a ginger-haired woman clad in a scarlet uniform and a white-haired one wearing a maid's uniform approaching, both surprised... Enterprise nodded to the Prince of Wales and Belfast calmly, before approaching them... She explained "Infinity and her Escort frigates were the ones we found at the Distress Beacon location..."

Wales looked up at the floating 'Riggings' of the 6 Stridents and said "I... See..."

"My, my, those are quite interesting..." Belfast noted, a smile on her face.

The Royal Battleship soon turned her gaze toward the Infinity and said "I presume that's Infinity...?"

"Yes." Enterprise nodded. "We have to take her in for repairs." And she watched Vestal approaching, shock visible in every move and facial expression that crossed her face. The Carrier understood, feeling much the same... Wales and Bel nodded, going ahead to help the girls of the Battlegroup drag the Supercarrier over to the Repair area... And she watched as a group of Battleships helped Penn and Ari move the man that Infinity had called the Master Chief to the Medical area...

She looked at her own rigging, before looking up at the massive warships overhead and narrowing her lips... Something told her that this 'UNSC' was quite powerful. She took off toward her own bunks, where she could dry off her clothing... Entering her room, her gaze swept the small, almost Spartan place calmly. Allowing herself a few moments to calm down, she thought back to Bismarck.

Usually, Iron Blood ships were thorough in the pursuit of their mission objectives. They were cold and calculate, but had honor with them... And a will of survival, she knew that, having served with Bismarck before the Crimson Axis was formed and the Sakura and Iron Blood betrayed them. But that didn't stop them from at least _trying _to enter combat with Azur Lane before. If even to damage other Kansen enough to take them out of action...

She wanted to contemplate more, but Hammann slammed the door open, shooting into the room and blaring "ENTERPRISE! WE NEED YOU!"

The woman stood up, looking to the Destroyer, before asking "What happened?"

"It's the big guy we got with Infinity!" Hammann whimpered "He nearly shot one of us!" And the woman's eyes went wide. She burst into a sprint out of her room, gunning through the hallways right for the Medical wing, before bursting through the door. She gasped, seeing the man on his own two feet, looking around. He had a pistol attached to his thigh armor, but it wasn't removed from its 'holster'... His hand was hovering above it, though...

Hammann peeked from behind Enty, staring at the big guy with fear in her two eyes. The Carrier put a hand in front of the Destroyer, to protect her, before raising an open left hand and saying "Stay calm... You're among allies, Master Chief." before gazing over to the furthest medical bunk from the chief, where Laffey had been pulled alongside Foote, Aulick and Cassin...

The man shifted his gaze toward her, before lowering his hand and approaching her... He stood a head above the Carrier... Enterprise continued, staring up into his visor "Infinity told us your name... She and her Strident frigates are safe, currently being overseen by one of our Repair ships, Vestal." with a calm demeanor. She caught sight of a small tilt of the head, indicating confusion from the man in armor... He nodded and an almost imperceptible movement indicated he lost that momentary tension... The Carrier let out a relieved sigh...

"Who are you?" The Chief asked promptly, his voice smooth, but hard as a soldier's... So much so it took Enterprise by surprise...

"I'm... USS Enterprise, CV-6. Carrier of the Eagle Union." The woman answered. "You're in a base shared by the members of the Azur Lane... An organization working to combat an alien threat that is working to wrest control of the seas from us."

"..." The Master Chief seemed to ponder what she'd just said... He added, his speech patterns unfazed "The USS Enterprise CV-6 was a Yorktown-class Carrier in service to the United States Navy and one of the most decorated Navy ships in the history of the aforementioned nation... She was most definitely not a girl."

Cassin snorted behind him... "Yeah, that's gonna be fun to explain..." before both Enterprise and Chief gave her stern looks, making her duck back into cover. The two turned their gazes to each-other again, only for the Carrier-gal to speak aloud "All will be explained to you in due time, Master Chief... But I can openly promise you, we are not here to cause harm to you, Infinity, or her Frigates..."

"Is she in the same situation as you...?" The Chief asked bluntly. "... Anthropomorphized?"

Enterprise nodded... "And wearing similar armor to yours, actually..." making Chief shift slightly. He hummed, then nodded to the one before him and took two steps back, letting forth the Destroyers hidden behind a bunk. Chief knew she'd seen a human form in Spartan armor(followed by about 10 more in a similar state) before they crash-landed onto whatever planet this was. To think it was Infinity and her Strident-class Frigates was odd, even for the Spartan who had seen almost everything the Galaxy could throw at him.

"I understand it's a lot to process..." Enterprise said, walking to him. "You'll have to excuse me for now, Master Chief, but I must go. I've still got missions to accomplish."

"Oh, God, not this again..." Cassin groaned, approaching the Carrier "Ma'am, with all due respect, we understand your desire to end the Sirens... Believe us... But this is turning into borderline insanity at this point... The weather outside's still pretty bad, so please, at least consider taking a nap until your rigging can be properly mended and the damn storm clears up."

Enterprise looked to the Destroyer, wanting to say something, but...

"You know, she's right..." Wales intervened, stepping inside with a smile still present on her lips. She nodded to the man in armor, then said "It is good to see you on your feet so soon, Master Chief. I'm the HMS Prince of Wales, battleship of the Royal Navy, member of Azur Lane's Joint Fleet and friend to the USS Enterprise.I'd be more than glad to brief you on our current situation."

"I see..." The Chief sighed, instinctively feeling the back of his helmet. "Very well... I request to talk to the Infinity, first... I need to get details squared away relating to this entire situation before any sort of interaction between your officers and ours is undertaken." to which the Battleship exchanged glances with the Carrier to her right... She nodded, waving Enty off to her own room.

"We have a deal, Master Chief... Please, follow me."


	2. Home Base

Infinity shifted as the weight of her rigging almost broke the bed under her as the younger-looking, pink-haired repair ship, the one they called Vestal, gave her and the Stridents' gear a once-over. Four damaged Stridents in the crash:Maryland, All Time High, Lady Luck and Canberra... Latter two sustained major damage and were currently bedridden. That meant a 40% effectiveness reduction in fleet capability and... The ship looked at the wrist-mounted Tacpad that served as her computer, only to see she was running low on Deuterium... As were the girls.

"What's the matter?" Vestal inquired, noticing the sag in Infinity's shoulders.

She sighed "Upon being hit by whatever disabled me and... Well, made me human, I apparently lost most of my Deuterium from the reactor core."

Vestal took a quick step back, her face morphed into a strained smile "Y-You run on a reactor and it leaked fuel?"

"Calm... Deuterium isn't radioactive." The UNSC Kansen assured weakly as she rubbed the back of her neck. She heard the doorknob to the Repair bay being turned and looked up, to see the Master Chief on his feet... A smile crossed her lips as she stood up, bringing a hand to her forehead in salute. The Chief saluted back, nodding to the Infinity to sit back down... Following him in was Prince of Wales, of course...

"Chief... Good to see you're awake." The Super-Carrier said warmly.

"Status report, Infinity..." The Chief inquired with, noticing the armor damage and re-entry burns on the Warship. The girl nodded, then tapped her TAC-Pad, sending every bit of data from her sensors toward the Chief's own systems. The Spartan received the data, which materialized onto his HEADS-UP Display. Everything from damaged parts, to a 3D Rendering of the weapons and sensor suites of her armor, which were referred to as 'rigging'. He hummed, scanning the data line by line... Then shut it off and looked to the woman. "Surprised your reactor isn't dead... You're down to 20% of your initial Deuterium supplies..."

"Must've leaked some both in-atmosphere and during our... Suffice to say, _poor _jump in-system, post-ambush." Infinity mused, narrowing her lips and frowning. Chief nodded, then looked to the Stridents... Two of which were bedridden and with their rigging still attached. The other two damaged ones limped from their beds toward him, helmets off and revealing different shades of blond hair and varying eye colors. They were wearing GEN-2 MJOLNIR armors from the looks...

"How're the Frigates doing?" He asked, looking at them and their 6 healthy sisters.

"Lady Luck and Canberra got pretty badly bumped, Chief..." Tokyo, the eldest of the Frigates, mused, pursing her lips and leaning against the wall. "Thanks for the impromptu heat shielding, though... I think you saved our collective bacon."

"... I'm gonna need names from all of you, girls... Just so I know who I'm talking to." Chief asked.

"Sure thing..." Tokyo nodded. "I'm Tokyo, Strident-1, leader of the Frigates aboard Infinty... On the beds are Lady Luck and Canberra, Stridents-3 and 5 respectively. Beside me are Maryland, All Time High, Hammerhead, Saint Mary, Paris, Constanza and King Ferdinand. Stridents-2,6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively. You'll be able to tell us apart either by armor configuration or by the little names on our breastplates."

"Got it." Chief hummed, pressing his lips. There was a lot more to take in.

"I understand this is still a lot to process for you, Infinity, Master Chief." Wales interjected, stepping up in front of them. She looked to Infinity, then said "I will show him to a room to rest and understand everything and, within an hour, after I brief you, I will personally go to him to explain the undergoing events in our world... Since I can clearly tell you are as alien to us as the Sirens are, though thankfully much more on the friendly side. Will that be okay for everyone?"

The UNSC personnel looked to each-other, before giving respectful, but curt nods.

Wales breathed in relief, allowing herself a smile as she showed the Chief to follow.

As the duet left the room, Infinity murmured something to herself, before checking her helmet. The damage was superficial to the Titanium plating, so that was going in their favor at least. She looked over data from her sensor suite once more, relating to the strange Slipspace event and the enemies that had engaged them... One thing that did bother her was where the rest of her crew now lay... God, she hoped all escape pods launched safely.

Prince of Wales had led the chief to a room without a name plate installed on the left, as many seemed to have around here... He was still reeling over current events and thinking about what had driven them into this situation, where all 11 UNSC Starships present with them turned into girls that seemed to be in their early 20s. Pushing the door open, he found a rather barren room. Save for a desk, a desk chair, a bed and a wardrobe in the wall, there was not much to look at.

"Forgive it being so barren, Master Chief, but we weren't expecting any new recruits..." Wales apologized.

"It's fine... Thanks." He returned calmly, his voice unwavering... He walked up to the window, to stare out at the waves hitting the coastline of... Whatever base this was...

"Would you like information regarding where you are and what the goings on of the place are?" Wales offered.

"I'd prefer it in written form... I need a few minutes to process this whole situation. Don't want to add more information to an already-convoluted thread of events." He returned as gallantly as he could to the Royal Navy's most famous warship outside of the HMS Hood herself. Chief had read up on his history, especially relating to the wars of old, when he was still undergoing training. He heard the Prince of Wales try and articulate something, but she cut herself off just as he turned to prepare an answer. She gave him a simple, motherly smile, then nodded, stepping off and closing the door slowly. The Spartan turned his gaze back out of the window, to the dark blue water that touched the sandy lip of the base's beach, rain still pouring down.

What drove them here? He remembered the cry of the alarm aboard Infinity, when those strange ships opened fire... He recalled the screams of the crew and mobilizing alongside the rest of Blue Team toward the escape pods... He was probably the only one who didn't manage to get inside one of the pods, however. And he prayed that those ships, whatever they were, didn't engage the Infinity's lifeboats and other craft... Then again, she was travelling with a whole contingent of Warships aside from the Strident Frigates...

The door opened behind him... He started calmly "I asked for a few minutes to-" as he turned, but cut off upon seeing the white-haired 'Carrier' Kansen, Enterprise, standing in front of him...

"Did I come in at a bad time?" Enterprise inquired, her features impassive, but her eyes conveying slight surprise. Her posture, defensive, but ready for any kind of action. "I heard movement across from my room and I thought they brought in another Ship..."

The Spartan hummed... This one was a curious Ship-Girl. Even to him...

"It's fine..." He said absentmindedly. "Enterprise, correct?"

"Mhm." The kansen answered calmly. "Master Chief... That is your rank, correct?"

"Yes." He nodded, shifting slightly as he walked, counterclockwise to Enterprise, who walked toward his desk. She leaned on it, staring outside at the storm and the Strident rigs once more, before she closed her eyes and sighed with clear annoyance. John took that as a hint about her desire to deploy... If she was anything like the CV-6, the Grey Ghost that the propaganda and stories told from World War 2... She was probably used to going out in worse and still coming out on top...

Turning toward him, she simply looked. Over his armor, his posture, hand hovering loosely near his Handgun and everything. The armor made him tall. Way taller than her, at least, by a head. And way taller than most of the ships on the premises, especially the destroyers, who were barely at waist-length. The undersuit was armor as well, from the way it shifted and lined his body... And his armor was the same as Infinity's at first glance, but it was far more scarred, burned... Damaged... But his posture told her something more. As sure of himself as he seemed, as soldierly as he acted, there was just that tiny sign of surprise and contemplation... Of course, awaking from a fall with the ship you flew in on, plus her escort, becoming Kansen was... Probably something for those like him...

"You're an alien... As far as I can tell." She noted, rubbing her chin. And noticing a slight tilt of his head, the woman clarified "To our world, I mean, Master Chief... A world probably weirder than yours at this point, considering you're staring at past warships that were turned into girls." And she approached him until about half the distance, leaving a good five paces between him and her... Two if they were his. She looked into his visor and moreso _felt _than saw her own reflection... "And you are more than just a simple human, aren't you?"

"Classified." Chief's response came, blunt. As Enterprise expected out of him...

Enterprise nodded "I don't expect it not to be. After all, you're among soldiers of an unknown organization at war with some of the strangest monsters mankind has fought..."

... Chief would beg to differ on that, but he nodded "You and your allies kept mentioning these 'Sirens'... I hope that Prince of Wales will not forget to enter that in the briefing report." before leaning against the wall behind him. She motioned to the desk chair and the Chief nodded slightly... She pulled the chair out of its place and sat herself down, leaning against the back of the chair.

"They are not exactly the friendliest bunch, really..." She mused, before looking down and frowning. She murmured "And that's too little said about them..."

He took notice of her reactions and mused "I take it they must've done something to piss you off if you're this eager to go after them."

"You don't know the half of it..." Sighed Enterprise. She stood up, then said to the Chief, a raised brow for curiosity's sake "What about you... Where do you come from? I bet you have some interesting stories to tell."

"I'd rather keep those to myself until I know I can trust everyone here..." He swiftly returned. "Anything you want to share?"

"Not for now..." She said, standing up and sliding the chair back into place. "If you need to talk to me, knock on the door just across from you. Otherwise, I doubt anyone will hold you back if you want to roam the base..." And she turned toward the door, opening it... Only for white hair, a maid's bonnet, lilac eyes and a fair, beautiful maiden in a maid's uniform to appear, making Enteprise gawk and stagger back... With the Chief quickly turning and going for his sidearm... The maid smiled presumptuously, then said "Greetings, madam Enterprise! I was just coming to check up on you when I overheard your chat from within this as of yet unmarked room."

Chief peeked from the corner, the tall boy, then turned to Enterprise... She could feel the raised brow from within Chief's helmet... He could _swear_ he heard a hint of Spanish guitar upon sighting the white-haired maid...

"Master Chief..." Sighed the Carrier dismally "This is the Royal Navy's Light Cruiser, Belfast. If you'll excuse me..."

She bowed respectfully toward the Spartan "A pleasure to meet you, sir. I am the maid of the house." And then straightened up, flashing him one of her trademark smiles... Enterprise's shoulders sagged as she looked to the Chief, before bidding him a goodbye and walking toward her room. Belfast let the Carrier pass, before turning to the Chief and asking "May I enter?"

He nodded his head, before asking "A Light Cruiser 'Maid'?" with that tone of disbelief that had so desired to get out during the first few minutes of being here.

"Indeed." Belfast said, stepping gingerly inside and facing the tall man, before offering "If you require any help, you may call for me at any given time of the day. In the evenings, however, I do tend to retire to my chambers unless absolutely necessary." and looking around at the room. She observed with a bemused tune of voice "My, my, this place is quite barren... I would take it you had no time to unpack your personal effects?"

"Err..." Chief narrowed his lips... This was the first time in his life he was at a loss for words and not for the reasons any normal person would think... _He didn't like it._

"Oh, are they with your Kansen? Shall I go ask Infinity for them and fetch them, sir?" Belfast tilted her head slightly to the right.

"... I don't have that many personal belongings, uh... Belfast, you said?" He paused. This was beyond comprehension. Belfast smiled, both brows raised as she nodded in understanding. He uncomfortably walked back toward his bed, sitting himself down as slowly as he could, to not break the wooden furniture, before he looked back at Belfast and waited for her to go... "Uhm..."

"Oh?" Bel raised a brow again. "Oh, of course! I'm sorry! I shall go now. Do not be shy to request help if you require anything, sir. As a reminder, breakfast will be served at around 8 AM, with following meals to be announced to you once your first few forms and that briefing you requested from the Prince of Wales arrive... That is provided you decide to stay here."

"Understood... Thanks, Belfast." The Chief paused. The woman once again bowed to the chief, also lightly lifting her maid's skirt, before walking out of the room and closing the door. Whatever that was, Chief probably did not want a repeat experience. He stood to his feet again, removing his pistol from his hip and placing it on the desk, only to start taking it apart, while also taking stock of his ammo. Thankfully, he hadn't fired a shot yet... That could, however, change soon.

Letting out a sigh, he stared out once more into the blue of the seas, to see that the forecast started to clear. The rain had stopped its incessant pattering and, despite the window being soaked, the rays of the sun could be seen parting the clouds... And apparently, that was enough for one ship he knew too well to start up a Sortie... He watched as Enterprise approached the sea, her Rigging soon reforming via a strange set of cubes onto her back. She sortied, almost 'walking' on water... He hummed, then turned toward the door and ran out, following a set of signs until he found a command room, which's door he pushed open... He caught sight of a woman wearing a blue uniform with the British flag and a large, Victorian hat that was colored white...

Beside her, Belfast was also present, followed by a pair of unknowns and maybe three 'Destroyer' girls operating a set of consoles, all of the Royal Navy from the looks. The command room in itself was large, presenting a three-dimensional holographic map showing the ocean and all surrounding. The emerald-eyed blonde he first caught a glimpse of looked to him... And spoke in a more posh British accent, but with an accentuated level of seriousness "So this is the Master Chief... I take it you saw Enterprise depart."

"I did." The Chief asked "And was about to come report it... is this normal behavior from her?"

"It is." Belfast stated. "Lady Enterprise does whatever she pleases... She is the Union's best carrier after all. Trust us, we've tried to warn her against this lifestyle of always battling, but..."

"Hm." The Chief murmured, approaching the Holo-table tracking Enterprise's movement... And noticing several blips tailing her... Their ID tags read 'Cassin', 'San Diego', 'Tennessee', 'Laffey' and 'Downes'. Three destroyers, one Light Cruiser and one battleship for escort, if he were to remember the types of the ships based on names alone. He watched as the group formed up... The seas were still somewhat choppy and murky, thanks to the storm, but they seemed serviceable enough... He hated the ocean nearly as much as he hated Zero Gravity. The disorientation, no boots on the ground and the three-dimensional fighting wreaked havoc with a Spartan's sense of direction, but they could adapt... Albeit slowly.

... He awaited to see these Kansen in action. If the Infinity's scans were anything to go by, they were quite possibly a nearly-as-dangerous unit as Spartans were... Provided they worked cohesively. Enterprise seemed too brash, too focused on her own goals at this point. Just from the way she seemed eager to jump into the action at the first sign of being allowed to, she rubbed off as wrong on the Chief... She seemed a proper soldier, acclimatized to warfare... Much like him... But her eyes told of loss...

It was time to see firsthand what the Grey Ghost was capable of in this new world and if she matched the stories told about her...


	3. Lucky E vs the Lord of the Seas

Her objective remained a simple one:Sink whatever enemy they ran into along the way. Enterprise maintained a steady advance, one hand on her bow, the other on the flat-top landing deck that also served as the quiver for her 'arrows'. She drew one, sliding it into the bow and drawing back... The arrow turned bright gold and shined as she prepped to launch it... Letting go of the string at its most tense, she launched the arrow and, from it, three Fighters materialized about five feet in front of Enterprise. Scout pattern 3, mobilize and find any targets in close vicinity of her... And her support fleet.

Laffey took front with Downes and Cassin, the middle one with a grin on her face as she readied her gun. She turned to Enterprise, then asked "Hey, Enterprise! What're we hunting for, exactly?" with a most enthusiastic of vocal tonalities. Enterprise listened into com from her planes, before answering. And when she did, she did so calmly... "We're going for an Iron Blood battle group in the area."

"Oh, hunting Bismarck, are we?" Tenn inquired, a grin on her face. The tanned, buff battleship of the Eagle Union tugged on the glove on her right hand, before saying "Color me impressed, Enterprise." before dashing in beside her and adding "However, you'll need heavy armor plating to take her shots... Mind me taking front with the Destroyers on this one?"

She received a shake of the head. "No, I'm holding point... We're here to sink her escorts, not her per-se."

"What've you got planned this time?" Tenn asked, holding close to the woman. Enterprise gave her a wary look, to which the Battleship sighed, shaking her head and moving back to hold rearguard with Sandy. She scanned the horizon briefly, waiting for signal from Enterprise... An open palm pointed eastward, then five raised fingers, times two. 10 Warships per total, some probably Iron Blood. Enterprise then gave three distinct signs... 'BB' 'CL' 'CA'.

Battleships, Light Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers... Shipgirls?

The Battleship Kansen gave the question via Hand Signal... Enterprise shook her head once, raising one finger and making the 'BB' sign again... Just Bismarck, then, with a few escorting Siren Cruisers. This was gonna be difficult. Enterprise gave a hand signal to the fleet, to redirect their trajectory for intercept. She pulled up another arrow from her quiver, readying to fire it. As she drew back the string... A whistle.

Eight shells landed in their vicinity. The Fighters deployed for Recon, now returning toward Enty, were felled by a cloud of bullets. The burning husks of the aircraft fell into the sea, sinking. The Cruisers undertook a wedge formation, with the familiar form of Bismarck leading them from the front. Tenn swore, then cried "Enterprise! Launch! We got you covered!" and raising her gun batteries.

The Destroyers took combat positions, their weapons immediately aimed for the Cruiser squadron... The Siren cruisers shined their usual crimson between the segmented armor, their bridges alight with the same demonic light that stared them down. Their modern-looking guns swiveled toward the Eagle Union battlegroup and let loose a thundering salvo of heavy artillery... Cassin bemoaned "Why US!" as she pushed her sister out of the way of a shell.

Tennessee's guns roared in response, 12 HE shells arching through the air. One round struck the deck of a Siren warship, bursting it aflame. Another hit the bridge. Two struck and bounced off the angled belt armor and the rest went too far or too close... The warship gritted her teeth, only to gasp as the smoke cleared and one of the Heavy Cruisers' guns turned to fire at her. She jumped to dodge, with the rounds narrowly missing her and kicking up pillars of water...

Laffey fired her smaller gun at the enemy ships, punching narrow holes into their armor from up close. She glared at the other Cruiser as she slipped between them, only to fire a quick Torpedo salvo into the broadside of a warship that tried to outflank them. Three pillars of water exploded into the sky and the enemy ship listed to the left, its hull groaning under the stress as the Destroyer swiveled her gun and let loose a hail of rounds... She spoke softly, in a deadpan "Deactivating self-imposed limiter..." as she dodged between shells...

"Son of a..." Downes groaned, ducking under a shell and raising her Torpedo tubes. She fired a set of three, only one of which made contact with the bow of a Heavy Cruiser, lifting its front out of the water. She grinned devilishly, raising her Gun and crying "EAT THIS!" as she dumped five rounds into the breaking bow. She ducked and dodged another strike, before jumping over another splashing shell, before spending two of her own toward a Heavy Cruiser chasing her Sister. Cassin gave Downes a thumbs up, before turning to engage her hunter. Ain't no Siren gonna take down Downes and Cassin today!

Through the splashing water and the roar of explosions, a beacon of stability launched her strike force. A wing of TBDs lanced up into the air, their bombs primed and ready to drop upon the heads of the enemy... Two light Cruisers went around, trying to outflank the Eagle vessels... The one Laffey gunned down was finished by a Dive-Bombing from Enterprise's TBD up above, splitting in half upon the piercing bombs slamming through its deck and igniting the magazine...

Enterprise watched as Bismarck surged through the combat, dodging shell after shell... Enterprise launched another squadron of TBDs, followed by an escorting wing of Fighters and even a set of Devastators hauling Torpedoes, before she caught sight of Bismarck's flag-topped lance coming her way, aimed right toward her chest. She parried he strike, before pushing forward to break Bismarck's guard...

The Iron Blood Battleship glared at Enterprise, cocking back her right fist and delivering a hook to Enty's cheek, sending her reeling... The Carrier doubled over, jumping back and aiming an arrow right for Bismarck... She fired and the Battleship deflected the arrow with her rigging's heavy armor... One of the 'heads' mounting the turrets to her back bit the arrow out of the air, only to chew and spit it out to the right. Enterprise bared her teeth, before dodging and ducking under another stab from the Warship. The Flagpole locked with Enterprise's bow as the Grey Ghost blocked it, locking them into a tug of war...

Bismarck pushed, glaring daggers and shells at the Eagle Union's best... "So... Enterprise... Entertain me and answer this question..." She spoke through the grunts as she pushed... Enterprise felt her arms slowly buckling as the Battleship spoke "Where did you take Infinity and her allies...? Home base? Or would that be _too obvious _and you sent them to the HQ in Europe, perhaps?"

"Why would I tell you...?" Enterprise struggled, pushing up... Her knees started to buckle under the Battleship's strength...

"Just a question from a former Ally..." Bismarck said "I'm not fond of what I'm doing either, Enterprise... But this is for the best of all of us..."

"Betraying Azur Lane was _never_ for the betterment of mankind! You Iron Blood and Sakura are always looking for power...!"

Beads of sweat, surprisingly, fell down from Enterprise's forehead... And as she heard Tenn rushing through the gunfire, she wondered if she may get saved. Bismarck looked to the left, from where her Union counterpart came from, turning one of her turrets to greet her with two shells... The warship turned her side, taking the rounds at point-blank range in her rigging, damaging Turrets one and two... Her three and four still worked, however. And the six shells they fired toward Bismarck was enough for Enterprise to break the lock, kick Bismarck away and slide out of the way of the rounds. Armor-Piercing... They gutted one of the Heavy Cruisers. It listed and sunk... And another cruiser blew, with two bombs falling at the same time between Enty and Bismarck, from her TBDs.

And once the smoke cleared, Bismarck found herself at the business end of one of Enterprise's arrows. The Carrier cried "IT'S OVER!" proudly as she let the arrow go... It lanced forward, a line of light in a darkening sea, before it struck through Bismarck's stomach, making the Battleship cough up... Blood...? Enterprise went bug-eyed as she saw the Battleship bare bloody teeth at Enterprise, raising all eight guns in response... One round scraped Enterprise's flight deck and another nearly broke her bow, sending the Carrier back a good couple of feet...

"Bismarck..." Enterprise looked both fearfully and with worry at the wounded Battleship. But Bismarck still held a standing stance, simply glaring at Enterprise as her blood stained the water... She shook her head, then said "... Not all of us seek strength, Enterprise... Nor any kind of power... Some of us have no _choice..._ For tarnishing my pride like this... I will make sure next time that you all pay with your lives!"

And she let loose a wave of smoke from her generator... Enterprise and Tennessee coughed, but noticed Bismarck's silhouette vanish. As the smoke cleared, San Diego, Laffey, Cassin and Downes appeared, the former quite damaged, but still floating... "Guys, you alright!?" Sandy bellowed, upon noticing the damage to Tenn's turrets and Enterprise's scratched Flight Deck and cracking bow...

Staggering and holding onto her side, but still on her feet, Tenn grinned, lifting Enterprise up to her feet, one of her eyes closed. "She sounded crazy..."

"I... Don't know, Tennessee... She seemed serious... Like she was in danger." Enterprise mused, staring at the trail of foam that Bismarck left during her swift retreat. shook her head, looking around at the sinking enemy fleet. "Well done, everyone... I'm glad you joined me. And yeah, I think we're... Okay... Sandy. Let's return to base..." And she turned around.

... At base, Chief stared at the holomap, attempting to process what was going on, while Hood and Belfast seemed just as confused. They'd all heard Bismarck's transmission... And Chief knew too little yet to pass judgement on what was going on. He straightened up, then elected to exit. He gave calm nods to the Royal Navy ships, before walking out of the place and aiming to go to his room.

The moment he entered it, he noticed paperwork on the table... Prince of Wales worked fast... He went to sit on his chair, to complete the paperwork, but upon seating himself down on the wooden furniture piece buckled, cracked and broke under the weight of his Titanium-plated, multi-tonne armor, sending the Spartan falling onto his rear. He sighed, shaking his head, before standing up and taking his helmet off. He had to remember he was still wearing armor that could be used on warships like these present... Infinity herself being much the same... He took the pen next to the paperwork and started filling it out, helmet now laying on the desk, on his left.

Requisition forms for a specialized sign for his room and several new personal effects, including an armor mount of a material he could select, from wood to reinforced steel... Chief knew nothing of this place. And a base of operation would be needed should other UNSC forces arrive. He shook his head, squelching the though as that was unlikely, before going back.

Requisition forms for specialized material to allow the repair of Infinity...? Huh, he thought the base commander would need to fill this kind of stuff... He read the lines better, only to find this was for possible base personnel to request from the command... Did they have a base commander here, or was this just a joint, conceited effort between the ships that didn't throw them into anarchy somehow? He'd have to address that later...

Finally, he saw the briefing after completing a stack of req forms, including ammunition, food and fuel...

Huh, right, Fuel. They'd need Deuterium, but going by the tech here, that'd be a while before they got any... So the UNSC kansen would have to be used sparingly or not at all until they could figure how to set up a mining operation for it... Sighing, he put the pen down and took the briefing and sat himself down, even more gently than before, onto his bed.

The data had been declassified to the populace after the first Siren war, it seemed, so he would probably just have to access local networks to get more data... But so far, this seemed comprehensive enough... Similar organisms to the Kansen, though with differing, more Science-Fiction equipment than the Second World War restrictions of current summoned Kansen('summoned' being a weird term for called up to serve) and, as was speculated by the Science teams studying destroyed Sirens... Hunting for the 'souls' of these ships, in the form of what has been nicknamed by the scientific community as 'Wisdom Cubes', items of immense power and technological advance so far unknown to mankind. The Siren have come with one goal to Earth, to wage war against Mankind, the planet and Her protectors... Not much else is known about the Sirens, as new variants would pop up the moment they got through studying one... Two factions formerly of the Azur Lane split off due to the supposed reason of acquiring Siren tech and incorporating it to defeat them... Or in some cases, have even shown a level of religious fanaticism toward these aliens... The Crimson Axis, formed of the Iron Blood Navy and the Sakura Empire...

... Well, that was... Disconcertingly familiar...

He sighed, setting the paper back onto the table, before picking up his helmet, just as he heard a muffled opening of a door. Enterprise was back. And it was time for some questions... He stepped out of his room after putting on the helmet, then knocked on the door. The Carrier propped it open slightly, only to see him there, arms crossed. She opened it fully, then said "I assume you're here to chastise me? Because, to be honest, Master Chief, I'm not in the-"

He raised his hand, showing her to stop, before saying "I'm not here about that. I'm here just to talk."

She hummed, then showed him to enter. He stepped inside, noticing she had a metal chair... Huh, must've had the same problems... No, she sat down quite well in his former wood chair... She must've preferred something sturdier beneath her when she sat. She offered him the chair, which he graciously took and slowly sat down on. He heard a slight groan and got a raised brow from the Carrier, with a corner of her mouth quirking up in a near-imperceptible half-smirk... She sat down on the bed, then said "So... What is it you wanted to talk about, Master Chief?"

"Who was that Kansen that engaged you and your fleet?" He asked. "I heard it through the com, but..."

"Bismarck... KMS Bismarck, of the Iron Blood Kriegsmarine." Enterprise responded, a bit shook from remembering the blood... "She's their Flagship."

"Any history between you two?" He leaned back slightly on the chair, arms crossed.

Enterprise tilted her head forward, staring at her interlaced hands "We served together for a time. She was one of the strongest warships I've ever met. Prideful, strong and a defender of those weaker than her... And when the Iron Blood and Sakura Empire formed the Crimson Axis, it... All went wrong. I don't know what happened to her, but I've been hearing reports and tales from those sailors and Kansen alike who survived when she engaged them... And few survive to tell the tale when she is around."

"I see... So she's a threat." Chief hummed, noticing he garnered a reaction... Even more so with his next words "And you're the famed Enterprise, Carrier number 6 of the USN, facing the most dangerous Kriegsmarine ship, as well as, I assume, the Carriers of the Ja... Sakura Empire Navy, Akagi, Kaga, Soryuu, Hiriyuu, Zuikaku and Shoukaku... But if you, a Yorktown-class Carrier, exist, where's the rest of the Yorktown sisters...?"

"You're prying into areas I'd rather you didn't." Enterprise almost warned, her tone a low, guttural growl, standing up and walking toward him, this time as close as she could, to the point she was staring face-to-face into his visor with a glare able of killing tanks... And then she reiterated what he had told her "They're not stories I'd like to tell until I'm sure I can trust you. Or at least until you share your own."

... So that probably explained the reason for what he'd heard and seen so far around base... They were probably wounded or... And they _were _her sisters...

He pressed his lips together. "I apologize. I shouldn't pry into personal matters, ma'am..."

"Yeah, I..." She paused, staring with confusion at him "Why call me ma'am?"

"You're currently one of the most decorated people on-site. The USS Enterprise CV-6 was famed in my world too, for her and her crew's acts of valor in the face of the Japanese Empire... She was left alone for a good few months as the only Pacific-based Carrier during the Second World War and she put up a valiant fight. And I'd assumed at first that these medals and behavior transfer to you as well... Your eagerness for war has proven me right."

Enterprise opened and closed her mouth twice, eyes still wide... She pursed her lips and looked down at the Chief's breastplate, to see the fading, white 117 written onto it, among the scratching and scarring of what looked like energy weapons. "I'm not eager for war." She corrected. "I'm eager to end this war, so all of us can go home. We've lost too much at this point. And we can't back down... We don't even know the true reason the Sirens engaged us yet... Surrendering now would probably mean extinction for mankind."

"I know that feeling." Chief nodded. He stood up, sliding the chair back under the desk.

"Y... You do?" Enterprise looked to him, still surprised at the strange man.

"I've fought in a similar war." Chief noted. "Again... I'll tell the stories in due time." And he nodded to her "Enterprise... I must ask, is there no actual human command staff around?"

"Oh... Oh, yeah, there was some talk about that a while back." Enterprise noted, crossing her arms. "I think a joint admiralty inspection between the Eagle Union, Royal Navy and other present contingents is supposed to come and inspect the base." And she murmured something to herself in thought, before asking "... Wait, how many pieces of paper did Prince of Wales hand you?"

"... A few req forms. Why?" He asked.

"Oh..." A small grin crossed her lips. "Wales, you cheeky girl."

Chief realized... A little too late, what all those reqs were for. And he forgot to read a couple of the specifics...

Oh, great God above, no...


	4. The Woes of Command

The sun emerged from the horizon, just behind the island that the Azur Lane base was set up on. The Spartan walked to find Prince of Wales and Infinity. He walked and walked out in the base's courtyard. Walking through the blooming trees, an indication of Spring having begun not too long ago, he found the redcoat-wearing ginger warship sitting on a bench, humming a rendition of the song 'Men of Harlech' in that light, beautiful voice of a British Woman he'd expect to hear... Over on the beach, he could see Infinity standing, her damaged Rigging still present, but somewhat mended...

"_Heed these burning words before me, Welshmen will not yield..." _Wales sang softly, a smile on her face, as she watched the Super-Carrier lose the tension that had probably been present upon her arrival to the planet. Past Infinity, the Strident sisters, those who could walk, bounced around or simply let the cool breeze of the ocean run through their hair. She heard a single step to her right, on the paved road, then turned her head. "Oh, Master Chief. Welcome." She greeted with a wave of her gloved hand.

He nodded in response, then asked "What's going on?"

"Infinity asked to be allowed out of the repair area for a bit... Said she'd lose it if she didn't move around for a bit." Wales smiled warmly, looking to the girl and her Frigates as they rested. "Of course, the little ones begged to follow, so..." She added, then waved at Infinity. The Super-carrier turned, then waved back, a smile on her face... Her eye had a bandage draped over it.

"How's her healing going?" Chief asked, crossing his arms.

"Better than expected..." The woman returned. "Vestal is still learning your people's technology, to allow her to put everything back together properly, but as far as I understand, a main issue for the girls will be their lack of... 'Deuterium'?" And shook her head and turned with a smile to the Chief "Whatever fuel your forces use, clearly it outdoes ours by quite a bit."

"It's for Nuclear Fusion reactors." Chief added, facing Wales "They have enough to keep themselves active, I imagine... But I don't think we can risk sending them out into combat... Speaking of 'we'... What did you do, Prince of Wales?" He then asked menacingly, seemingly glaring past his helmet's polarized visor into the woman's scarlet eyes. She paused, her smile taking a more awkward form, her eyes now wide.

"Hark! I don't know what you accuse me of, Master Chief, but I assure you, I-" She started a bit of a theatric act, then all color drained from her face as he pulled up a list of Req forms... At the front of the stack, Chief's signature, on a transfer paper disguised as a Requisition Form... 'As by signature of the person requested for transfer, he and his assistant fleet of Kansen have been assigned to the Forward Operating Base in the Pacific Ocean, code-name:Pearl Harbor, as acting Commanding Officer and Staff'... Chief crooked his head slightly to the right, to see Wales biting her lower lip and sweating...

"Hehehe... A-About that..." She scratched her cheek, smiling awkwardly. Her Welsh accent seeped through her more composed self.

"Your Highness... I don't appreciate being tricked." Chief warned, lowering the stack of paperwork and folding it, to place it in his armor's rear pocket, before adding "I expect a full explanation of what this is about before this evening... And don't expect me to go easy on any of you if I'm supposed to command this unit." and receiving three nods in quick succession from her... He sighed deeply, then looked to Wales and added "You do know you could have just spoken to me and the others."

"Oh... Actually, Infinity may have indirectly suggested it to me last evening, when I was briefing her about our world." She added, somewhat scared still...

"Did she...?" The Chief squinted toward the Super-Carrier.

"That or I may have misunderstood her." Wales added, rubbing the back of her head. "Eitherway... Forgive me for this, Master Chief, but even as we can command ourselves, Azur Lane wants human supervision over the entire Fleet present here and... Human judgement is some times lacking, especially from freshly-trained officers. I would rather not have a newbie Commander deployed onto this base that has no experience... I care very much for every Kansen here."

"That's respectable, but how do you know I won't be the same?" He returned calmly.

"Because I could tell you were different the moment our girls fished you, Infinity and the Strident sisters out of the Pacific and brought you home. You have those movements, those behavioral signals and much of that military training to remain composed." The woman explained as calmly as she could "While Hood commands most of us here, I act as her Second, with Queen Elizabeth serving as our overwatch and some times assisting in our decision making. Enterprise could also be considered part of the command staff on-base if she didn't keep throwing herself into battles all the time. But you? You are a man who has clearly seen very much... And has lead many into battle. Someone with experience, to put it bluntly. We fought, yes... But I doubt as much as you."

... Chief had to take a moment to process all of that info. He and Enterprise were fairly similar in their stance regarding missions, especially after he had lost _Cortana_ and... He didn't know whom Enterprise lost and would not make any comment on that for now... Not until she trusted him enough to speak about it. And he didn't tell anyone about the Human-Covenant War yet... Infinity could have, but... No, they'd have asked.

With a sigh of defeat, the Chief simply added "... I've lead many to their deaths as well, Wales."

"No good commander is superhuman enough to save everyone..." Wales mused, placing a hand on her chest "Losses happen, but yours were not out of stupidity nor cowardice."

"You speculate a lot without knowing my service record, Wales..." The Chief half-warned, half-wondered.

"I'm a good judge of character." The Royal Navy girl smiled.

"And if I fail while commanding you?" He asked gravely, looking to her.

"Then... We shall see..." She murmured, looking to the statue of the anchor beside them.

"Yo." Infinity said from their right them... Chief turned his head and Wales nearly jumped out of her boots.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" Wales cried, looking at the warship.

"You two were so busy chatting that 907 million Metric Tonne UNSC Warship managed to sneak up beside you." She quipped. "So... What're you talking about? Hope it's nothing bad." to which the Chief handed her the req files. She raised an inquisitive brow at the Chief, before going on to read them. Her lips curled into a smile as she turned to Wales. She chuckled "Smooth."

"Not really a fan of it, Infinity." John added.

"Oh, c'mon, Chief. Could be fun." She shrugged. He looked to her and she chuckled "Right..." before stepping back a bit. He then looked to Wales again.

"I'll have to hold a briefing, probably." He added, arranging parts of his armor, before noticing her handing him another piece of paper, a smile on her face. He read it over, only to see more allied ships on the roster. Aside from the ones he'd already met and those currently staffing the base, it was apparently stated that another combined Royal Navy-Eagle Union fleet was to arrive, alongside several carriers and a new squadron of destroyers, among which were:Cygnet, Foote, Spence, Aulick... And _Samuel B. Roberts_? Where'd he heard that name before...

Following the Destroyers were three new carriers... USS Hornet, Enterprise's sister... HMS Illustrious, HMS Unicorn and a Battlecruiser, HMS Renown. They would arrive with the inspection crews from Azur Lane's Central Command. Guess he'd have to make the place neat and tidy... Great... He looked to Infinity, handed her the file, then stepped off toward the Frigates, to gather them up...

.. John eyed a strange, scarlet piece of paper in the form of a cross as it passed them, before floating away, taken by the breeze...

Hidden behind one of the not-so-populated islands in the archipelago where the Pearl Harbor port was located, a young beauty sat atop the flat-top of a Sakura Empire Carrier. She wore a dark-red kimono, with blood-red and white details, a metallic corset-styled item bearing the golden cherry blossom emblem of the Empire. Her hair was a fading, dark-red... But the most striking of her features were her nine tails and the fox ears...

The small red paper landed in her hand. She gazed upon it, then smiled as her scarlet eyes, lined by red at the edges, read to herself the intelligence brought forth by her little spy. A pair of footsteps came from behind her and she turned her head, to eye her sister, of opposed chromatic design, blue and white. The woman stood up, chuckling darkly "It seems it is as we anticipated, dear sister... They have a new commander. And we're soon to see their allies moving to reinforce and verify the place. Bismarck played her role perfectly."

"Shall I order Citrus to infiltrate the base and provide us further intelligence?" The white-haired one inquired.

"Of course... We move to phase 2 of the plan. I shall prepare the rest of our small assault fleet." Her sister returned... Akagi and Kaga, First Carrier Division of the Sakura Empire, nodded to each-other, both smiling, as they watched the unaware Pearl Harbor, unprepared for the incoming attack. The two soon left the area, for their staging ground, while a storm front moved in once again...

Enterprise stepped onto the docks of the base, letting her Rig reappear, before noting the Spartan approaching. She nodded to Chief, then said "We've just received some intel about Sakura naval movement not far from the Marshall islands." before turning to face him. "I'm going out to scout the target area for any future operations undertaken by the Eagle Union's fleet."

"Mhm." John nodded. "Did you also hear we have newcomers?"

"Oh?" Enterprise's brow quirked up.

"Within 2 days, among a combined reinforcement fleet of Destroyers, Carriers and a Battlecruiser, the USS Hornet is joining us." He answered the unasked question... And saw Enterprise's face morph into several expressions, one after the other. Joy, sadness, surprise... Fear...? She shook her head, bowing it and tipping her hat to Chief, before going for the docks. He stopped her by stepping in front of her, before asking "What happened?"

"... It's family business." She said with a faked kindness that masked venom. "So, please, stay out of it."

"I take it you two didn't leave off on good terms?" He mused... And received a glare from the Enterprise.

"Like I said, not your business... _Commander." _She noted even more venomously than before and not bothering to hide it as she sidestepped him and walked into the water. "I may be gone a few days..." She said as a final 'goodbye', before dashing off. He sighed, before turning to see Tokyo approaching, a sympathetic smile on her face as she walked on-deck, before turning to look at the leaving Enterprise...

"So... That went well...?" She quipped.

"How long have you been listening, Tokyo?"

"Long enough to know you fucked up a bit by pressing the matter, Chief. You hit a nerve."

The Chief looked to the Frigate. She turned her gaze to meet his, then chuckled. Of course, one would forget that their CO is a Spartan in this kind of trying times. And they were dense as rocks when it came to interpersonal relationships with... Well, she wouldn't call herself or any other Kansen fully human at this point. More like an amalgamation of machine and man.

"Her sisters are a painful memory to her, right? I asked around base why and not many told me anything. Those who did didn't give straight answers." She shrugged. "So I pieced it together and figured she must have some kind of history that's the same to our world's Enterprise... But if Hornet is alive, I doubt it fully transcended universes at this point."

"'Universes'?" Chief asked.

"Yep!" Tokyo said confidently, a grin on her face "Anyways, going on... She must've lost someone dear to her at least." before turning to him again "And that probably caused a rift between her and Hornet. Sadly, I don't know what to say about how it must've affected their relationship, but going by her reactions... It must've gone bad when they last spoke. To the point of wanting to leave quicker when you mentioned her."

"Hmm..." The man murmured. "How'd you figure all that out so quick?"

"I'm an inquisitive and focused mind, Chief. When I put myself onto a problem, I usually figure out ways to solve it... Gotta be taking that from my captain." And she smirked at him. He nodded, then looked to Enterprise, before he spoke softly "Guess I should apologize when she gets back..." Interpersonal relations were tough between a Spartan and non-Spartans. They took a turn for the weird with their landing here... And now this.

"Gonna need a lesson on interpersonal relations." The Frigate quipped... Chief glared at her and she took two steps back and squeaked out a "Sorry... Hey, Chief?"

"Hm?" The Spartan asked, staring at the form that vanished over the horizon.

"Up for a little spar? Hand to hand, I mean... I kinda wanna see if I can move as fast as a Spartan with this armor. And I figure it's gonna take yer mind off our troubles for a bit" Tokyo suggested.

"Do you _want_ to take damage now?" The Spartan inquired. She playfully grinned.

"Oh, just _try _me, Chief!" She answered with a proud grin, bumping her fists together "I'm Strident-1, Tokyo! Deadliest bitch in the Strident sisterhood!" And the Chief tapped his visor, then pointed at the beachside. The girl cracked her knuckles, sliding her MJOLNIR helmet on her head. The two went to the sandy shore and took combative stances... Wales and Infinity appeared around the corner.

"What in God's name are they doing!?" Wales bellowed, fearful.

"I think they're havin' a bout, ya cheeky tart." Infinity mocked her british accent with a grin to match. Wales glared at her, then turned to see the rest of the Ship-Girls coming out to see the combatants. Downes grinned, then called out "Hey! The Commander's gonna duke it out with one of the Stridents! Betting pool's right the heck over here!" forcing a groan out of Wales...

"I'm gonna go shut that down! You go stop the fight!" Wales ordered to Infinity, who nodded... She then added "Mock my accent again and I'll deck you." with a glare worthy of a Battleship, before dashing forth. Infinity chuckled, then ran fast as she could under the weight of her rigging... But the first punch was thrown. With all the weight of her armor behind her, the small Frigate managed to send the Chief skidding back a good foot or so, with a wave of sand slamming into the helmetless Infinity's face...

"Oh... Okay..." Infinity paused, then stepped back... She looked to the destroyer, then called out "Yo! I'm betting 50 on Chief!"

The Spartan cracked his knuckles, then said "Very well..." before surging forward. The Frigate responded by rushing him as well, a grin on her face. She cocked her fist back, before feigning a strike with the left and trying to hit with the right. Chief, however, quickly countered, grabbing her arm and pushing her back. He slid to the left, dodged to the right and jumped over a kick, before crossing his arms in front of his face as the little girl tried to kick him right in the face-plate.

She grinned "What's the matter, Chief? Can't hold it against a lil' girl?"

"Actually..." He pushed her away, then grabbed her by the ankle and threw her upward. She spun through the air for a few, before finally landing behind him. She tried to sucker punch him when she landed, but missed as he dodged, grabbing her arm and hurling her over him. She dug a nice trench in the sand as the Spartan threw her into it. A loud cheer echoed from some of the more rowdy ships...

"I thought I told you to stop it!" Wales glared at Infinity.

The Super-Carrier shrugged "Let Tokyo blow off some steam."

"SHE'LL GET DAMAGED!" The Royal Navy vessel cried as the Frigate flew through the sky, cheering.

"She'll be fine. Chief's playing defensively, so the girl will tire herself out eventually." Infinity noted, a smile on her face.

"... Ugh..." Wales sighed in defeat, before turning to look... Indeed, little Tokyo was panting and now covered in sand. "Well..." Mused the Battleship "That was fast..." before watching her charge again... And be thrown like a rag doll... No major damage sustained save for cleaning required for the ship. The girl raised her hand and yelled an 'I GIVE!' that forced a few muted sighs of disappointment from those that bet on her... Chief approached the girl and extended a hand, which she graciously took... Upon her taking her helmet off again, Chief saw her grinning, some sand in her left eye.

"We should do that again!" She chuckled, then yawned. "Though later..."

"Sure..." He sighed... Crazy girls.


	5. The Assault Begins

The Chief had begun to take a relatively short walk to the mess hall, when the honking of horns echoed from across the gulf. Stopping amidst the Port's streets and roads, to gaze outward, the Spartan caught sight of a dozen warships approaching the port. Both in their human and usual forms. Squinting, he polarized his visor, allowing for a zoom, only to lock onto the flat top of a carrier... A blonde haired woman wearing black and yellow clothing('Clothing' being a loose term for her bikini, a hat and a jacket that barely reached to her midriff, as well as black boots) stared with a smirk right back at him... Beside her, two older men in the white Navy uniforms presenting Admiral's pins on their collars and epaulets.

The Spartan straightened up his posture, stepping off toward the port at a brisk walking pace, to meet their newcomers and Azur Lane's Admiralty Board representatives. He had had to better read that 'assignment' letter, to realize it was moreover meant to be a request for both the Chief to be allowed to command the place and for the Admiralty board to send someone to verify him and check upon Infinity and the Strident girls... He wondered what Wales had planned.

Luckily, there the British kansen was, approaching at a standard marching pace off the Chief's right. He nodded to her, then raised two fingers. She smiled her trademark smile, nodding. As she approached and took to his right, he heard her humming 'Men of Harlech' again. And finally, as they marched and Chief got a good look around, he saw that, aside from the 6 Rigs of the Stridents, the base was a pretty massive location. It was a very overly-developed Pearl Harbor... A large, human-made weave of structures, from docks to large rig repair bays and storage areas, to the habitation area for them all, all arranged neatly in a circular pattern with only one entryway into the gulf just opposite of the hab area. In the center of this circle was a decent-sized island that served as docking for the Capital Ship Kansen. It was connected to the rest of the port via 3 massive Golden Gate-styled bridges.

He had to give it to Azur Lane's and this 'Eagle Union's' Engineers. They knew how to make spectacular superstructures. He saw the Kansen of the fleet bring themselves in for docking, only for the black and yellow-wearing Kansen of the Yorktown class, presumably Hornet, to dock in front of them. She was the first to slide down the railings, a grin on her face, before she noticed their new commander...

"Jeeeesus..." Hornet mused, approaching the man with wide, emerald eyes "Nobody told me we'd have an armored titan over here." before noticing Wales and smiling "Hey! Royal Lady! Long time no see!"

Wales gave a nod "A pleasure to see you well, Hornet. Welcome back to base."

"Hey, who's big guy?" She pointed at the Chief. "Seems kinda silent."

"That's the new commander..." Wales chuckled. And all color drained from Hornet's face...

She turned and saluted promptly "T-Third of the Yorktown Class, USS Hornet, hull number CV-8! A pleasure to meet you, sir!"

"At ease." Chief nodded. "I'm not a full commander yet... Not until the Admiralty comes to give me a pass." He added, before straightening up as the two elder men in uniforms approached. He brought his hand up in a sharp salute. He waited for them to address him as both Hornet and Wales saluted. One of the Admirals was clearly from Britain, as far as his name, 'Boyce', told Chief. His chest was lined with British medals through and through... The second admiral was of American origin. 'Aquilino'.

They both saluted, the latter smiling. He spoke "At ease, ladies, Master Chief." and as they lowered their hands, he continued "I'm Admiral Aquilino. Pacific FLEETCOM. Beside me is Rear Admiral Boyce, Royal Navy representation. Prince of Wales was very thorough in giving us a description of you, Master Chief... And for a moment, I'm not gonna lie, I thought she had lost it."

"S-Sir." Wales murmured.

"I told you Her Highness wouldn't exaggerate, Admiral." Boyce added in a rather posh accent himself. "Your armor is as described in the report... God above, my boy, what burned it though?"

"Atmospheric Reentry, sir." John said stiffly... Boyce's brows quirked up.

Aquilino spoke both their thoughts. "You cannot be serious, son."

Wales pointed up at the Strident Riggings and both men took a moment to comprehend 6 floating starships up above... Hornet's jaw dropped.

"How did we... _not _see those?" Boyce murmured to himself. The two Admirals processed the sight for a bit longer, before Wales cleared her throat, taking their attention back to the Chief... Boyce cleared his throat, then said "Right... Master Chief, if these riggings are from the Warships you've brought into the fold, may we say we are interested in seeing what they have to offer."

"That may be difficult, sir." Chief spoke.

"Why's that?" Aquilino looked to the Spartan inquisitively, whilst Hornet still processed...

Wales looked to Hornet, poking her... No answer.

"Their Fusion reactors are nearly out of Deuterium fuel. Our... 'Transfer' here was rather harsh." He answered swiftly and sternly, looking the admirals in the eye. "The transfer drained fuel and caused our crash-landing onto your world, to the point the Infinity and four of the 10 Strident sisters were damaged... I trust Wales has briefed you about USS Enterprise's discovery of us and the subsequent research and repair work done by Vestal to the UNSC Infinity and the Strident squad."

The Admirals seemed unsure if they should believe him. Hell, Chief knew he wouldn't believe himself if he was from the 21st Century and heard this kind of talk... He sighed, waiting for a verdict, before hearing Aquilino speak up "Master Chief... We can talk more about the Fuel issue inside. Considering that the weirdest things to happen to us so far were the arrival of the Sirens and the subsequent wars fought by ships that were turned into women... Your explanation seems believable and... Scientific enough. Deuterium is a substance in our world too, but it's much sparser in its uses than in yours... Let's proceed. You can take us on a tour of the base's facilities, tell us if you think they're adequate while we evaluate you and... Perhaps the Kansen you brought with you."

"Sir... I'm not the best at judging facilities outside of defenses and basic supply necessity." Chief responded.

Aquilino grinned "That should be just enough, Chief."

"Indeed. We could also use a briefing on how you wound up here." Boyce voice calmly. The Spartan simply nodded, then looked to a Wales that worked on awaking Hornet from her stupor... Chief advanced toward Hornet with Aquilino and the latter tapped her twice on her forehead.. She wobbled a bit from the taps, before a spill of water came from the right, that woke her up... She gasped, shaking her head.

"WHO THE HECK JUST-Oooh! Hey, Cleveland!" Hornet waved, going from angry to happy in an instant... Chief's gaze shifted to the right, to see a light orange-haired girl clad in a white cape, blue uniform and American flag... Socks and boots? Huh. Her scarlet eyes shimmered with joy and, in her hand, she held what looked like a toy water gun. He hummed.

"Yo, Hornet! Long time no see, big girl!" Cleve said, sliding the toy behind her and shaking Hornet's hand. She looked to the Admirals, then saluted "Sirs! Welcome back to Pearl!" and she received nods and salutes from both the Admirals... Slowly, she turned her head to look at the Chief, then paused... And with an excited smile, started "Oh... S-Sir! You must be our new commander!" as she saluted.

Chief saluted, then hummed "Remains to be seen for now... Cleveland, was it?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The girl proudly said "I'm Light Cruiser USS Cleveland, Hull number CL-55, the Knight of the Seas, at your service!" maintaining her smile. Hornet and Wales chuckled, the latter more indulgent of the young Cruiser's quirks. Chief saluted back, then nodded to her... She turned to the Admirals and said "His armor's pretty cool, gotta admit! Where'd you find him, sirs?"

"I do believe Enterprise's picket was lucky enough to find him and 11 other Kansen, Cleve." Aquilino noted... And Chief noticed a slight shift in Hornet's facial expression. She pressed her lips together indignantly, with a slight frown to boot... Chief had a feeling he'd have to have an 'Open Doors' policy, if he was to solve any kind of on-base issues relating to cooperation... And he was not good at solving interpersonal conflicts.

Save for that one time back when they were kids... He squelched that thought, then showed the Admirals to follow. And as they started the tour, the Chief took them through the on-site areas he knew:The Habitation Area, rooms, an office, the Mess Hall and Command Room, all with help from Wales and Cleve... And finally, they went for the repair bay.

"So, this is where they are?" The American Admiral asked. Chief nodded...

The two Admirals looked to each-other, then propped the doors open, only to see Vestal tending to an incredible set of Rigging. Three metallic prongs, heavy armament around her body, heavy armor similar to the Chief's... And 10 younger, smaller versions thereof with Rail Rifles instead of the trio of prongs. One rifle each... As well as the CIWS and other gear from Enterprise...

The two admirals went bug-eyed as the Warships and Repair ship stopped whatever they were doing, only to salute them. Cleve let out a loud 'woaaah' and Hornet grinned at the sight... The Carrier gal said "Well, you lot sure seem freakin' terrifying! Look at that kit! CIWS systems, bigger guns than a Battleship and... What are those prongs on your backs?"

"MAC Guns." The girls answered.

"What?" Hornet paused... Then realized "Y'all don't mean..."

"Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, with added SHIVA Nuclear missile tubes, a few dozen Archer missile pods with autoloading capability and multiple Close-In Weapons Systems, 40mm and otherwise." Chief answered the question before it was asked, making the Admirals and Carrier turn toward him, wide-eyed. "These are the UNSC Infinity Super-Carrier and her 10 Strident escort Frigates." He added calmly. The 11 ships saluted, 4 of them wounded and in bed. The Admirals weakly raised their hands in salute, before Boyce turned to the Spartan fearfully...

"What are you and your girls, Master Chief...?" He asked weakly, looking at the armored soldier before him.

"We, sir? We're the UNSC." He nodded.

* * *

**_Near the Marshall Islands..._**

Enterprise had met up with an Escort Fleet formed of about ten Destroyers and five Cruisers of varying sizes. She scanned the surroundings between the small landmasses with malcontent... If rumors were to be believed, the 5th Carrier Division of the Sakura Empire was present within these waters. And she intended to scour the place for them until no stone was left unturned...

She recalled with sadness the day they first went up against Shoukaku and Zuikaku. The two had no mercy whatsoever... That skirmish had cost her the life of one of her sisters. That battle had gone oh so poorly for the Eagle Union due to the betrayal suffered at the hands of the Sakura Empire. And if she hadn't been distracted by C. Div. 5's vain attempt at taking her down, perhaps she would've managed to save her sister from that one Submarine...

And if Carrier Division 5 was around... I-19 was not far behind either...

Enterprise's Scout Squad radioed in just as the clouds above turned a darkened shade of scarlet. The water flared the color of blood. Possible Siren presence... And as the sky turned blood-red, she looked around, launching her fighters and bombers as soon as she could. Her radio crackled to life, spewing static... She took a combative stance, her bow raised and aimed...

Three enemy Destroyers appeared. The hulking shark-like metal machines turned turrets... She dodged out of the way of the first rounds, before locking onto the target on the right with her bow, to provide her planes a location to target... She basically 'lased' the Destroyer. Three Dive-Bombers went on to charge forth as the enemy's Anti-Air systems raked them with bullets... One got its bomb off before exploding ,but it struck true, center-mass. The vehicle burst aflame from the blow, seared in half as its magazine detonated, before it began to sink...

Her fighters swept the sky, meanwhile. Two Hellcats took down one of the enemy's Jet fighters with precision...

She swiveled about and launched another Bomber squadron, before directing it toward the second Destroyer. Torpedoes struck, making the vehicle list and its cannon, miss Enterprise. The girl moved around the listing, damaged warship. She gazed around, then called out "ANYONE AROUND!?" as she looked for her Escorts... They'd... Vanished... She gritted her teeth as she heard the telltale movement of Kansen... "Girls!?"

She looked back as a shiver ran up her spine... The sound had vanished, but she saw the foam left behind by a Kansen's movement just in front of her. She aimed her bow, then launched another Scout squad... Only for a dozen rounds to gun it down just above her head. She ducked, then aimed her bow toward where the rounds had come from... Before seeing a formation of a dozen silhouettes against the rising sun... She squinted, noticing some familiar forms... Cleveland... Belfast...

"Cleveland! Belfast! Why did you just shoot down my aircraft!?" Enterprise demanded angrily, receiving no answer. "Belfast! Cleveland! What's wrong!?" She asked again, almost pleading "Tell me you came here to help me find the others! They went missing the moment the Mirror Sea moved in!" and she froze, upon seeing a faint scarlet shine from all of their eyes...

Her mind had told her... _Forced _her to ignore the figure in the center. She couldn't allow herself to. Not like this... And her gaze locked onto the long-haired woman who held a bow similar to hers. Her eyes shined her own color, a soothing lilac, but the way they stared at Enterprise... And as she focused onto them, she could hear their screams... The screams of the ships around the leader... Low, silent, they grew into a horrifying chorus of wails, of pained cries for help. Her mind allowed her to register them... And she knelt, covering her ears. "No...!"

"_Help us, Enterprise!" _Cleveland's voice begged...

_"Save us!" _She then heard Belfast's broken voice...

_"PLEASE!" _

_"END IT, WE BEG YOU!" _

_"WE DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THIS!"_

_"Enty, please, NOW!" _

"Shut up... Shut up! SHUT UP! **_SHUT UP!_**" The Girl screamed painfully, aiming her bow and firing... An arrow deflected hers off-course, to the point it landed in the water... And the figure leading took one step forward and Enterprise saw her holding a pair of Dog Tags. She couldn't make out the congealed blood-stained name on them, but there was a final number she could see... 7...

"WHO ARE YOU!?" She cried at her assailant, her eyes filled with hatred.

She answered with _her _voice, a voice full of spite and hatred "You are _weak._ Too weak to be of any good yet... Work hard... And save your friends..." as Enterprise stared at her... And a thought came to her mind just as this woman spoke again angrily "Begone!" and waved her off. A Enterprise blinked and the world returned to normal, she was soon greeted by three of the destroyers present with her... There just in time to catch her as she lost balance. Pearl... Pearl Harbor was gonna be... How did she know that...?!

"Wow, easy!" One of them said.

"M-Miss Enterprise! are you okay!?"

"I'm..." The woman paused, staggering a bit... "I need to get back to Pearl... Now...!" And she turned about. All of the ships looked to her, surprised. Whatever happened to the Grey Ghost, it had spooked her. And in no good way, if she said she needed to rush back to base... The Cruisers exchanged whispers and glances. The woman checked her pouch of arrows, to see all of them had returned. Nodding to herself, she pushed forth.

"We can handle things here!" The Heavy Cruiser commanding the fleet said. "Godspeed, Enterprise!"

* * *

**_Back with the Admiralty and Chief._**

The Chief had been, at Wales and the Admirals' request, explaining Infinity's equipment as best he could. And the more he added onto it, the more surprised the Admirals seemed to be. And once he finally reached info about the SHIVA Nukes, the Admirals had to stop him... Aquilino asked first, with the most baffled look ever "You're telling me whatever Humanity made Infinity and went on to make Magnetic Accelerators and other highly-advanced weapons as such... We have access to enough fissile materials to _still _make Nuclear weapons...?"

"Yes, sir. Shipboard weaponry has always included nuclear missiles due to their high damage output when deployed." The Chief answered promptly. "Nuclear torpedoes are considered a good disabling weapon, due to most of the energy hitting as a sort of Electro-Magnetic Pulse that disables electronics. We've utilized this tactic before in our war with some high degree of success."

"Jesus, talk about overkill..." Hornet murmured to a shocked Wales, who nodded, her mouth agape.

"It's actually underkill." Infinity returned with a smirk. She turned to the Chief, before asking "Chief, how much longer before we tell them about the War?"

"I was planning on telling the Admiralty in private, or compiling a report regarding it to hand to them." The Chief noted. "Which they would then choose to either keep secret or give to all active Kansen." to which the two Admirals seemed surprised. Boyce walked up to the Chief, looking over his armor again calmly... They would probably want to know every intrinsic detail and he couldn't fully give it away without orders... Which they were fully able to give to him.

"Can we talk in the Command Office, Master Chief? I think we've seen enough of the UNSC Kansen for now." The Royal Navy admiral inquired. Wales nodded to the Chief, then showed them to follow... Infinity waved goodbye, before turning to Vestal, who simply shrugged as she went on working. The group walked toward an unopened room, to which Wales had the key... She slid it into the lock and propped the door open, before showing them to the inside. The office was at the top of the building, right in the center. Its desk, still covered by a plastic tarp, like the chairs, was turned toward the window that opened out to the Base itself.

Other furniture present was a pair of couches at the front, a coffee table, some shelves for books and memorabilia and two more chairs in front of the desk.. All of it covered in similar transparent plastic tarps, to keep the dust away. The Spartan and Wales quickly removed and gathered the tarp in one spot, before they all sat down facing each-other on the two couches.

Belfast followed inside, bringing tea and refreshments before long... And disappearing just as fast as she'd arrived after bidding a goodbye...

The British Admiral took his tea from a tray on the coffee table, then said bluntly "Well, Master Chief... So far, I must say... You impressed us."

"Technologically, you're the most advanced human faction we've got around to date... I'll openly say I'm glad you're on our side. And that Enterprise found you before Bismarck did." Aquilino added, even as Hornet slightly shifted, showing that uncomfortable feeling of hers whenever Enterprise was brought up... "But we still don't know how you are as far as command goes. Without any proper information regarding that..." He paused...

"We can't say if we'd allow you to stay or not..." Boyce added, before taking a sip from his drink. "We're considering options right now... And we feel that we should ask for the Infinity and her escorts to be surrendered to us for research of new armaments against the Sirens... We also need you to come along with us, to confer whatever information you have relating to their armament and gear."

"Sirs..." Wales mused, hand on her chest and worry crossing her face.

"Something the matter, Prince of Wales? We know you requested his assignment here, alongside them, but-" Aquilino started.

"Forgive me for interjecting, sir, I'm afraid Infinity and the Strident sisters will remain with me, sirs. Too much of a risk to hand over UNSC equipment to anyone that's not from there." The Chief responded promptly, cutting him off. "And we won't be going to any research areas... The girls here rescued me and the 11 ships I had under my care from what, with what little evidence I've read about, could have been a horrific fate at the hands of your enemies. And Prince of Wales has spoken to me about her reasons for asking for my assignment here."

"That would be?" Boyce's brow quirked up.

"Her belief that, with the current officer cadre, your few veterans notwithstanding, under training being deployed here to act as Commanders, one of them may get someone here killed... Or panic during a pressuring situation and crack, causing the loss of Kansen." and he leaned forward "

"C-Chief!" Wales stuttered, blushing.

"Let him speak, Prince, please..." Boyce noted. "It's true... We've been having trouble finding proper Navy officers to staff our bases. We got lucky with a few, not so much with others... But this is the biggest joint fleet base, Master Chief, where our very best Kansen reside. I think we'd have done a check on every recruit and re-trained them if needed to make them fit to serve here."

"I know, sir. But Prince of Wales offered my name both to sate her worry and to save you the trouble of looking for a proper officer... I am not saying that I, by any means, can command a Navy. I much prefer groundside combat." The Spartan started, noticing Wales starting to calm down a bit... "But if she considers me necessary for the time being, I'm open... If it means I can keep Infinity and the Stridents safe."

"Noble of you, Master Chief." Aquilino said. "We still need to study their gear, however... You understand why."

"Fully, sir. You can probably ask Vestal for what she's learned while fixing up Infinity's rigging... But she and her girls are staying with me and that is final." The Spartan stated, half-warning them. He'd lost enough in the last few months. They were not going anywhere... And the Admirals seemed to have gotten the message, both leaning slightly back...

"Noted..." Aquilino looked to Boyce... And the RN Admiral looked back... They nodded to each-other, a silent agreement, before Aquilino turned to the Chief and leaned forward "Master Chief... I think I and Admiral Boyce agree with Wales." And he stood up. Chief followed suit and the two went face-to-face. Aquilino started "Master Chief Petty Officer, as per order 236 of the Azur Lane command booklet, you are given temporary command of the joint Royal Navy/Eagle Union base within the confines of Pearl Harbor with possibility of permanent assignment, under four conditions:A request from Azur Lane's researchers for data about your armaments to be sent on a bi-weekly basis being the first. The second is that you maintain direct contact with Azur Lane officers and welcome any inspection properly. The third is that you complete a sign-up form and a briefing about your world and what happened to it... And finally..."

"Take care of our girls, Master Chief." Boyce stated simply.

Chief promptly saluted and got a salute back. And Wales gave a smile "Thank you, sirs... I'm sure the Master Chief won't disappoint."

"I won't." He bluntly stated... And that brought smiles from both Boyce and Aquilino. The Admirals extended their hands... But something rung in Chief's ears... And the scream of Jet Engines came to him. He swiftly turned, then pushed the Admirals away and yelled "GET DOWN!" to the ships, just as the windows at the back of the room exploded into shards... Chief's shields flared as glass pinged off of the armored plating... He looked to see highly-advanced fighters flying high above... And among them, what looked like Mitsubishi A6Ms, Zeroes, flying in, covered by a bright scarlet light...

"Enemy attack..." Chief mused. He turned to Hornet and Wales, then barked orders to them "Sound the general alarm and get whatever we can get out there sortieing! We need air defenses active as soon as possible!" and as he saw one of the strange craft stop before them, he drew his pistol and shot all 6 shots in his magazine. The rounds punched through the canopy... And it burst aflame as the sixth struck the explosive tip of a rocket... He looked to a shocked Wales and Hornet, then to the Admirals and ordered "And get the Admirals somewhere safe while we sort this mess out!"

"Sir!" The Warships saluted, picking up the Admirals and moving... Chief walked to the windows, to see the enemy aircraft pouring lead down on the gathered Fleet's riggings, including some newly-arrived ships. The Strident riggings' shields took several high-explosive rockets, flaring, but still active... He dropped the empty magazine, then squinted toward the horizon. His visor polarized... And he zoomed in on a massive battle-fleet... Led by two Japanese Carriers...

The famed Fox Sisters had finally arrived...


	6. The Gambit

Seated on top of her rigging upon the beginning of the attack, a black-haired Destroyer Escort girl stared up at the enemy's advancing bombers... She shook her head in disappointment, standing up and dusting her uniform off, before jumping off the rigging as it reformed onto her back... She landed in water, raising her gun and letting loose her first three shots. And with a grin, the USS Samuel B. Roberts joined combat beside the currently active destroyers... In front of them, Siren model advanced destroyers moved into Pearl Bay.

HMS Javelin was the first to notice the joining Escort. Although a smaller frame than most girls, she moved with all the confidence of a battleship onto the open sea. Laffey also noticed the new arrival too. She waved "Hello, Sammy." to which the Destroyer Escort simply nodded. She powered her Torpedo tubes as they all surged forth, before firing three out of the main tube toward the alien-looking destroyer models. The first two impacts made the ship list. The third nearly split it in half with extreme prejudice.

"Wait..." Javelin started, turning to Laffey, then with wide eyes toward Sammy... "You're Samuel B. Roberts...!? _The _Sammy B!?"

"At your service, uhh..." Sam started, then gasped as she heard shells. "WATCH OUT!" She cried as she shoved Jav out of the way and surged forth just as the rounds splashed into the water, before she returned fire with her own gun. The round struck and punched through armor, doing minimal damage, but at least she got through. Grinning, the Destroyer Escort danced around the shells landing between her and her friends.

She pirouetted around another shell, before aiming her gun at that same destroyer and yelling "GOTCHA NOW!" as she dumped three rounds into it. All went in, one damaging the turret, another lighting the bridge on fire and, finally, the last striking the rudder. She aimed her Torpedoes again, after reload and emptied the tubes into the side of the Warship, raking it with more gunfire just for good measure, before she spun her gun and let loose a stream of rounds into the sky. The ammunition, Star Shells, burst in the air, sending a squadron of Siren jets off-course. Two barreled into the water, a third struck a bridge and the others simply continued their flight...

"Wow..." Jav murmured, eyes wide. "She's cool!"

"Mhm. Sammy is awesome." Laffey said, before swiveling her own gun about and firing a barrage toward three advancing enemy Destroyers. "Javelin. I may need help." She then spoke bluntly... And Jav stood up, nodding as she drew the namesake weapon and aimed it forward. The two girls let loose another barrage of Armor Piercing and High-Explosive toward the Destroyers, severely damaging the leading one and raking the other two...

The girls gasped upon hearing gunfire and the sound of a detonation up above... A Siren bird fell from the sky, no power to the engine as it burned, exploding upon impact with the water. It was clearly aiming for them, its missiles probably locked onto their backs. The girls looked to see who shot and there he was. The armored titan the others referred to as the Master Chief. His sidearm's barrel was smoking. He nodded to them, before waving forth a group of new ships...

HMS Hood, HMS Prince of Wales and USS Hornet jumped into the water, manning their rigging as quickly as possible. Hood was the first in, raising her Guns and greeting the same Destroyers that Jav and Laff fought with a wave of HE Shells that broke belt armor and detonated within the confines of the craft, blasting them apart. Wales' own guns barked up at the sky, but she was forced to dodge those same Bombers she aimed for as they dropped their payload... Sakura Empire Zeroes and related bombers, of course.

"There's no end to them..." Hood mused. Her eyes widened as she shoved Wales out of the way of another bomb drop, before turning with gritted teeth and a death glare toward the two Sakura Carriers in the distance. The woman murmured "I don't have the range for a shot like that... And if we try to go after them their Destroyers and strike craft would certainly zero in."

"Quite the predicament, is it not?" Wales responded with a grin.

"I can't launch my fighters if the skies ain't clear... And we need'em to clear the skies..." Hornet mused. "God dammit..." She glared up and paused as she saw them, her eyes going wide. A swarm of combined fighters and bombers, all Sakura, diving toward them. Hood and Wales opened fire, trying to shoot them down, but to no avail... Hood wanted to warn them, yet stopped as the roar of a multitude of Close-In Weapons echoed across the bay and the swarm was disintegrated by high-caliber Flak. She cocked her head with wide-eyes, toward an armored, heavy rig-wearing figure approaching. A broadband radio transmission came, the voice of the woman calm and collected

"_This is UNSC Infinity to all allied vessels of the Azur Lane base! I am partially active and ready to take up supporting action as Anti-Air Defense! Be advised, I am unable to engage engines at this time, but will be providing support as best as I can near the center of the base." _Infinity spoke with a smile behind her helmet as she approached the edge of the pier. She stopped, then looked up and around as her guns followed the enemy's craft... She spoke into her radio piece "Infinity, sortie of Squadron-02, Broadsword support fighters is a-go for launch."

The sides of her rigging opened and, within them, small jet-engine craft materialized out of the light. Their engines screamed... And Infinity nodded "Go." allowing the aerodynamic craft to surge out of the hull and up into the sky. All of them powered weaponry and a dozen missiles streaked into the air, locked onto their targets. The cloud of flak and HE Rockets diminished the enemy's aircraft numbers and provided cover as the newly-arrived carrier, HMS Illustrious and her protege, Light Carrier Unicorn, got into their riggings.

"Hahaha! Holy crap, so that's one of the Kansen we just got?!" Sammy B heartily laughed as she ducked under an IJN fighter's machine guns and shot it out of the sky. "She's awesome!"

"Infinity!" Chief started, running toward her. "Status report! What are you doing out of the repair bay?"

Infinity nodded reassuringly "It's fine, Chief. I don't expend nearly as much Deuterium using my gun batteries as I do using my MAC Guns or my engines... Or both in conjecture." And she tapped her TACCOM and showed the Chief alternating lines of energy, including some secondary batteries that would activate if she fully ran out of fuel... That wasn't the case now, as she herself expressed "I'm keeping my eyes on Deuterium levels, though. Just in case."

The Spartan understood what she meant... And Frankly, they could use all the AA Defense they could muster...

... With the Fox sisters, the situation had suddenly taken a drastic turn...

"WHAT!?" Akagi demanded, anger seething from every pore. "When did they install anti-air defenses!? Ayanami!" She turned to the white-haired, red-eyed 'Demon' destroyer, before asking "How could you miss something as obvious as Anti-Air Defenses!?"

"I... They didn't install any..." Ayanami stated, moving forth. She squinted at where the Anti-Air 'Bubble' had originated, only to gasp. She pointed to the docks, where Infinity resided as salvo after salvo from her point-defense swatted enemy birds out of the sky... Akagi looked up at the Strident rigging, then at Infinity... While Ayanami added simply "She's bigger than those things... And way more advanced than anything I've seen on Azur Lane's side so far. She must've been kept a secret..."

"That only means she'll fall harder, Ayanami. She cannot be that tough if they have yet to bring her out... Sister. Shall we?" Kaga turned to Akagi. And the leading carrier sighed, planting a palm on her face. She looked to Ayanami, then nodded and turned back to her sister, that old smile of hers crossing her lips... Kaga pulled out her plane-shaped origami, with a blue flame enlightening it... She grinned, then said "To war...!" as Ayanami advanced to join the battle too.

She threw the paper upward and, out of it, three Zeroes appeared, surging forth toward the combat area. She let her rigging power, before utilizing her powers to activate it. The Carrier-form rigging soon began to shift, shining a deep blue, just as, above, Supermarine Seafires engaged her wing of fighters. Kaga smiled deviously, seeing the little Carrier on a plush unicorn. "Not my usual prey, but she'll do..."

Akagi's fighters, meanwhile, engaged the newly-minted wing of jet craft deployed by Infinity. The Gatling guns on the Broadswords barked and raked the fuselage of the enemy fighters with lead. Two missiles flew from the birds and a pair of Zeroes were obliterated... Yet in response, Siren fighters tailed the UNSC Broadswords. A missile streaked in and got lucky, detonating just above a Broadsword. That sent the UNSC craft tumbling to the sea...

Infinity... She _felt _the Broadsword crash. Cocking her head to where it'd gone down, she looked to see the massive enemy rigging, now transformed into a gigantic white fox, with the attached landing decks and other major items of the vehicle it transformed out of to boot. She went bug-eyed and called out "Jesus fucking Christ, Chief! Are you seeing that thing!?"

"I am." Chief noted, before gazing up at Unicorn as she was struck, thrown to the floor and was about to be munched by the giant Fox, then turning his head as he heard blades clash. He checked his magazine. Only three rounds left in this one... And only two and a half more mags left. He'd need more ammo...

His helmet isolated the droning noise behind him... He drew his handgun and swiveled about, firing all three rounds into the front of a Zero that was diving for them. Its engine caught fire as it dived. It was about to dive-bomb Infinity. Chief gritted his teeth, then pushed Infinity to the floor, letting the aircraft strike the sea and temporarily stopping her Flak Guns...

She turned to Chief, then said "Thanks..." as she stood back up. Those few split seconds were enough for several of the ships to get hammered by a bomb strike... Yet as Chief turned back toward Unicorn and her assailant, he only saw a bright, shining eagle flying high above. And Chief had a feeling he knew whose that 'eagle' was. It dived, going at incredible speed on through into the mouth of the massive fox, before exiting out. Out of its light, an airplane materialized.

An SBD Dauntless, bearing the insignia of the United States on its mid and wings, as well as three bombs below in their carriers...

Infinity grinned "Sir, there's another warship coming in..."

"IT'S THE ENTERPRISE!" Cleveland cried joyously. "The best carrier of Eagle Union, the Grey Ghost!"

Chief tapped his wrist toward Enterprise, to indicate a watch... She had somehow seen it, rolling her eyes almost imperceptibly...

Her response was another wing of bombers flying in, followed by Hellcat fighters. As she activated her rigging, the girl jumped. Clasping her bow, the girl entered the waters as the squadron approached from behind. Once again, she jumped, this time on top of one of the Dauntlesses, riding it into battle like a mighty flying steed, much like Unicorn's unicorn was to her...

The aircraft not manned by Enterprise dropped their payload on the present Siren fleet of destroyers and battleships. The shattering strike of bomb and bullet tore apart much of the fleet as Enterprise rode her Dauntless as close as she could to the enemy... She pounced off of it as the giant Fox she'd knocked down clawed at her plane, breaking it. The arrow she fired sent its head back to the floor in a three-point explosion as she jumped onto its arm, dashing down the furry body, onto the armor and finally, toward Kaga...

"Haha~! You're a welcome sight, Phantom! This was getting boring!" The white-haired Fox grinned maniacally "Come! ENTERTAIN ME, GREY GHOST!"

"Wait!" Akagi barked "Don't!"

And as Enterprise jumped, she'd wound up face-to-face with Kaga... Aiming her bow, the woman pulled the string back and spoke "It's over..." at the surprised IJN Carrier. She let loose an arrow that seemed to pierce Kaga's very soul as a vibrant azure fire joined her scream as it left her body. The fox disappeared in a wave of flame, leaving Enterprise to turn and aim for Akagi...

The Chief watched the entire interaction from afar, including Akagi, Ayanami and Kaga's retreat into ocean. He sighed, stowing his handgun, before walking to greet Enterprise on the dock. Hornet eyed her sister in a very curious way. He couldn't tell simply from the eyes, this time, but an amalgam of emotions crossed both of their gazes, Enterprise and Hornet's...

The woman tried to walk past him, but he took her by the arm... She turned to him, a deadpan... He only said "Thanks for the save." before letting her go. She hummed, walking away and trying to keep her gaze away from Hornet. He turned to Hornet with intent of inquiry. She seemed to realize what he was after, so she sighed and quipped something to Wales, before coming back onto the dock.

"Sir, I like ya for what ya pulled back in the Office and for proving your wit as a commander, but... I'm gonna be honest..." She started half-nice, half-serious "Don't... Just don't meddle in Yorktown family business. It's for the good of everyone around..."

"Your sister said the same..." He said, crossing his arms. Hornet felt a chill shot up her spine as he added an unchanged, but lower-voice "So be it..."

He watched Wales get on the Dock, before addressing her "I want a debriefing and damage report on my desk by 19:00 tonight. You understand?"

"Sir." Wales nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good..." he said, before he left for his own room.

"IIIII-uuuuh... Think that went bad." The youngest Yorktown sister said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Don't know if he likes me."

"You did kind of go against his desire to fix your relationship with your sister." Wales mused.

Hornet pressed her lips together... She turned to Wales, then spoke sternly "You know yourself how hard that's gonna be. I can't easily forgive Enterprise for what happened..."

"It's been _months_, Hornet... This is not healthy, not to anyone in the Fleet. Especially since you two are carrying the Eagle Union's Navy." Wales had to choose her worlds very carefully as not to further upset Hornet... The blonde sighed deeply, however, trying not to react worse than she had back when the events occurred. She arranged her clothes, then nodded. Wales looked to her again, then said "I'm not going to tell you to talk to the Chief, but if he allows it, maybe you should go ask him for help or..."

"I'll see about it." Hornet said bluntly, her face a far cry from her usual cheerful self. She resembled Enterprise more with that kind of deadpan. And Wales wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. And with that, Hornet too stepped off toward her room. She heard Wales's disappointed sigh and her footsteps as she went back to the command post. Left alone with her own thoughts, the Yorktown-class Carrier was finally able to process the latest events... Including seeing the new, highly-advanced Kansen deployed under the Admirals' supervision and the man that they elected as temporary commander...

Perhaps she should go apologize to him...

She turned a left as she entered the base's main building and barracks, only to see the Chief standing in the hallway, stiff as a rod. Him and the Admirals were exchanging words. Good ones, from the look of the smiles on the Admiral's faces. The Chief brought a hand up to his forehead in salute and the Admirals saluted back, before one of them pointed at his own head... Chief seemed reluctant for a moment..

And Hornet's eyes went wide as she saw him undo the locks and seals on his armor's helmet by a slight twist to the left, before pulling the Helmet off slowly, to reveal the face of a handsome man, perhaps in his early thirties, going by looks alone. His hair was a deep black with no grey in it whatsoever, yet his face told a different story, that of a veteran. From deep to superficial, all over his face, were scars. Some unnoticeable, some very noticeable, but all still there...

Hornet tried to tug at a collar she didn't have as she felt her cheeks go red... Holy shit...

The Admirals nodded to the Chief, with Aquilino patting him on the shoulder as they left... The man sighed after bidding goodbye. He shook his head, then moved to put his helmet back on, before noticing Hornet. He turned to her, their gazes locking for a moment and Hornet felt for her heart, only to feel it going way beyond normal speed. He simply nodded to her, before putting his helmet on and walking away.

"Wow..." Hornet murmured.

"I know, right?"

"AAAH!" The Yorktown carrier screamed, jumping back... Only to see that Kansen there, a smile on her face. Hornet's face morphed into a combo of surprise and poorly-faked friendliness "P-Please don't do that again!"

"Sorry. This is kinda my gimmick..." She said. "I'm Infinity. Kansen that got here with the Chief."

"O-Oh... Hi." Hornet nodded. "W-Wait ,what did you see?"

Infinity's smirk was undeniable... She saw enough...

Ohno...


	7. All Under Heaven

The Spartan scratched the back of his head as he sat at his desk, in his currently-temporary dorm room... Thankfully, with a metal chair that was strong enough to hold up his weight this time. He was completing a set of forms for repairs on the port, including the necessary repairs and materials for his new 'office'. God, it felt weird to think he had his own office. It was slightly abnormal at the very least and uncharted territory at most. Chief was teetering between the two. He continued signing the files after giving them a quick read, to make sure he signed only necessary forms for now, tabbing the rest as 'unnecessary' or 'personal effects' and putting them on the right and left, respectively, for later.

A blaring alarm in his helmet and on his Heads-Up Display took his attention away from the writing... It flashed in front of his eyes, scarlet writing, warning signs and every explanation needed... **_WARNING:MICROFUSION CELL DEUTERIUM FUEL RESERVE NEARING DEPLETION. CURRENT STATUS:4,5% DEUTERIUM REMAINS. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE. _**

Oh, mother of God...

He heard the door open and close miliseconds apart, with the wind that caused wafting up some of the papers on the desk... He turned toward his bed, only to see a Naval Dress uniform with UNSC Pins and Insignia, as well as his service number embedded above the right pocket. He stared at it for a good minute as the alarms continued to blare in his ears... A loud sigh was Chief's only vocalization of his frustrations as he started removing the armor... A very long 30 minutes later and the Spartan had gathered the pieces together...

He arranged his cuffs, collar and tie, before straightening out his hat. Looking at the mirror and leaning forward a bit, he could see himself in it... He looked slightly younger than he remembered, but then again, he hadn't been out of action for this long... Or even a commander. He swallowed, pressing his lips together. He didn't feel fit to command an entire fleet. Not this out of the blue. He didn't hate Wales for shoving it onto him, but he still needed a bit to process it... No, he shouldn't think about any issues with a mission. He had his orders:to keep the fleet alive and fighting. He squelched any second thoughts, before looking at himself one more time and went to grab something from his helmet. His combat video records, to be exact. The girls needed to learn who he was for now. His service record in the Human-Covenant War... And he'd ask Infinity for help.

The uniform felt a little tight, but... At least he looked halfway decent. He felt his pockets, only to find something in his right chest pocket, just below the name. He opened up the file, then read it aloud to himself "_'Hey, Chief. Infinity here. Upon checking some data my sensors passively gathered from your armor, it seems you're in a similar state to me and the girls... Luckily, I found your uniform sitting beside my bed! Err... Somehow. I'd use this 'till we can get more Deuterium! Signed, Infinity. P. S. Paper feels awesome to the touch.'_"

Well... That did and did not make sense. Infinity had, of course, managed the impossible once again. Both by making and not making sense... Then again, this entire world was like that to the Chief, so it only made sense. Turning toward the door and reaching for the handle, he propped open the door and walked out into the hallway, turning only to lock it, before hearing a light gasp from behind him.

Enterprise stood face-to-face with the man out of armor for the first time in their short days of knowing each-other. She had to admit, he did look quite well for a soldier that had conceivably been in his armor for a while as far as Infinity hinted at. He was a tall one too, still a head above Enty and she was blushing, wasn't she. Maybe slightly, but the tinge was almost imperceptible to the naked human eye, so at least she took solace in that part. She maintained her poker face as he turned and greeted her with a salute, before saluting back.

"I'm preparing a briefing within the place's auditorium. You all said you wanted to know who I am when we first met. That you wanted my stories... It's time you found out." He noted, to which the woman's brow quirked up as he walked away. He was an odd one, she had to give him that. The girl turned to lock her own room, before stretching and yawning. Hearing footsteps, the woman turned again, before stopping. She cast a fearful gaze toward the blonde, emerald-eyed woman sitting in the hallway, simply staring at her with a blank expression.

The Carrier took a deep breath to build up her courage... _This was not the time to worry about our problems,_ she thought, then said "Hello, Hor-..." just as the warship turned to leave... Enterprise sighed, bowing her head as she looked at her hands. Her lower lip trembled, so she bit down on it, arranged her hat and stomped forward, wiping those few tears that started to form on the bags under her eyes. She hadn't slept much, admittedly, but... There were many reasons for that.

Walking down the hallways, to find the old amphitheater, the girl watched as her comrades, both from the Union and the Royal Navy, gathered after a PA Announcement which she'd elected to ignore. Marching into the amphitheater with the swarm, Enterprise elected to ignore the glare that bored into the back of her skull, from Hornet, only seating herself down as far away from her as possible.

Infinity was on the stage, grinning as she looked around at the battalion of Kansen streaming inside the amphitheater. Wales was beside her, looking only slightly fazed by the ongoing event. The chatter within the halls immediately quietened down upon the sound of polished dress shoes hitting the floor. And much to the surprise and joy of many of the girls, the Master Chief walked into the Amphitheater without his armor on, as if forced by circumstance.

He seemed, however... Much less stern than usual. His gaze spoke of sadness, even as his poker face remained on. He handed Infinity the data chip from his helmet, then approached her and looked over her TACCOM. All lights were green. He turned his gaze toward the strange, almost holographic projector in the middle of the stage and nodded to Infinity. The girl took the chip and slid it in to a slot that thankfully connected, waiting for the Chief to give the signal.

If there was any chatter still within the room, it all cleared as the Spartan cleared his throat. And seeing how every ship-girl, Royal or Eagle, turned their attention toward him, the Spartan had to take a moment at first. He was going to be speaking to those under his command for the first time in forever. He'd stowed himself behind his armored facade for long enough that he forgot that soldiers-even those such as the kansen present-needed speeches and talks and lectures to learn, before they'd make the same mistakes... So, taking a deep breath, the Spartan began, going straight to the point with "A good morning to all of you. As probably all of you have heard by now, I am the current and possibly soon-to-be full-time commander of the Pearl Harbor military installation. For those of you I've yet to meet, allow me to introduce myself."

"I am Master Chief Petty Officer One-One-Seven and I am a foreigner to your world." He stated bluntly, holding onto the peak of his cap and arranging it as some of the girls gasped. Enterprise's brow quirked up, her interest, like many others' piqued. "I would have liked to have this discussion, about my and my... Err... Kansen's, arrival and where we came from at a later date... But as acting commander for this amassed fleet of the Azur Lane organization, I feel obligated not to keep secrets from this battle group if I want them to be an efficient fighting force. The basis of any good commander-subordinate relationship is, as I've learned through my many years in combat, mutual respect and communication."

He sighed deeply, looking to them. "So, let me begin by reiterating the aforementioned 'not-of-your-world' portion of my statement... I am from a world, perhaps an alternate universe as far as I can tell, where Humanity has spread to the stars from this small world, colonizing dozens upon dozens of others in an effort to expand reach in our Galaxy."

The girls stirred, whispering to one-another, but Chief was quick to calm down with one raised hand, before he continued in his usually calm tone. "But, one of the things that my world has in common to yours, aside from Earth and Mankind, is an enemy emerged from the other corners of the galaxy." and that got everyone even quieter. He nodded to Infinity as the deathly silence settled. "They began a campaign of genocide without any explanation, any attempt we made at communication failed and they outpaced us in every standpoint, technological and numerical. And they called themselves 'the Covenant', a religious conglomerate of species..."

The drive of the armor, filled with multiple saved recordings, began playing. Chief had made sure to meticulously save every piece of data from his service record and every major recorded Covenant encounter in this specialized drive, amassing terrabytes of data as a reminder of what he fought to stop. He looked to the girls as the first file, simply titled 'HARVEST' began to play... He spoke softly, pulling his cap over his eyes "I believe it was Sun-Tzu that said 'But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again to being, nor can its dead ever be brought back to life'... The Covenant proved that saying with murderous intent when they began their genocidal campaign over Harvest, almost 33 years ago. The first human planet to fall was not a Fortress, nor a military base at the edge of human-controlled space or any such other major point of interest... It was, as its name suggests, a simple agricultural world... And it was burned to the ground by the Covenant's relentless Plasma bombardment."

The first images came from below orbit. A city of rising white skyscrapers and clean streets, the capital of the planet Harvest. People, normal people, commuted to and fro, walking, talking, laughing. The images showed a park with lots of small hills and winding marble roads where children played. It was probably one of the parents filming... Then suddenly, a deep, harsh _thrum_ made the girls feel their spines iced...

As the camera suddenly panned up and the person filming audibly gasped, above the skyscrapers... A warship... It looked like a sea monster of the old tales, tall, long, bulbous and shimmering with fluorescent light. The POV camera switched over to an overhead Air Defense Drone that locked onto the warship. Its circular belly started to glow a lilac hue. A blinding light soon formed and the ventral hull of the ship lit up... The camera of the drone zoomed in on _hundreds _of energy turrets, poking out of the hull, charging...

Then all hell broke loose. An ear-piercing screech accompanied the images of an energy discharge the likes of which only science-fiction could have told tall tales of. The park below vanished under a scarlet-lilac beam of highly-concentrated energy. And drone feed cut as one of the turrets seared it in half. The perspective then switched to an image from a Soldier's helmet cam, his or her name expunged for reasons unknown, while he reloaded his weapon in the back of a human drop ship. He gazed out the back of the craft, only to jump to his feet and be cut down as a small strike craft, resembling a stingray with a white and purple outer hull, appeared, letting loose a stream of Plasma rounds... The girls sat, wordless, as they watched the event. Two were weeping in the far back, Hornet sat with her right hand clenching the lower half of her jacket and eyes wide and Enterprise seemed... Stuck, mouth agape and watching.

Feed cut again, to static, then to images taken from a wheat field, of advancing UNSC troops of the local garrison. Tanks, infantry, All-Terrain vehicles. The helmet camera of this soldier panned up, only for what looked like an angry swarm to appear on the horizon, where the ship burning the capital also lay. Plasma rounds raked the convoy, destroying the front vehicle before the gunners could respond. The infantry dismounted, those that managed either getting struck down by more rounds or living long enough only to witness the enemy's Drop Ships-bifurcated aircraft and what looked like gigantic jellyfish-deploying the alien-looking infantry... Some of the Destroyer Kansen cowered... Sammy B stared with fear, Cassin and Downes hugged each-other, bug-eyed and Hood seemed to be murmuring prayers...

Chief cut the feed for a moment, to let the girls process the images, before starting "Harvest would go on to be lost and reclaimed in a 5 year campaign, which also served as the first taste of battle for me and my company. The SPARTANs."

Footage played of ground deployments where Marines were engaged with Covenant chokepoints on Harvest. Machine Guns and Artillery did little to halt the monstrous aliens, but what did stop them was that great few... The Marine gazed up, only to lock his camera onto a dozen armored fellows, about as tall as the Chief, dropping in, as armed to the teeth as their armors allowed them. Guns rattled, punches flew and jaws were broken... But in the end, the Marines and Spartans stood victorious, for one engagement. Many more videos, from both space and land, played together and the situation was as desperate as it could be.

"While we did fight and did manage to turn the tide of battle several times, there were too few of us. And Spartans never die... We just go MIA." He said that almost mournfully, far as Infinity noticed. He nodded, to let the next video play, before continuing "The war wound grind on for 27 years, from 2525 unto 2552. Humanity was never on the offensive. Where we won on the ground, the Covenant would glass the world... Where we won in space, we'd sustained to many losses to hold a second wave, a second wave that always came..."

"The situation was desperate... And it turned for the worst when, after over 70 worlds lost and tens of billions of casualties, the Covenant found the Fortress world that was the doorstep to Mankind's home... They found _Reach. _And that day would be mankind's bleakest day."

Images showed of the first Covenant fleets arriving, of the first great battle beginning. Of the Covenant's relentless engagement... The girls were even too busy to notice that this was Chief's own camera showing the combat. Every ounce of the battles fought here was proof that the Covenant were merciless. Intermingled with images from the other colonies, the proof of the Covenant's barbarism. Marines trying to save civilians, gunned down. Civilians themselves, gunned down.. Cities burned. Spartans, lost...

But images of warriors showed. Even in the darkest of times, these soldiers, a team called NOBLE, fought. Chief spoke solemnly "I owe this SPARTAN team, NOBLE, my life. And Humanity owes our survival to them as well. Were it not for them, I and the ship that helped end this war would not have left Reach alive... Noble Six was my counterpart and he or she protected me, the Pillar of Autumn and, by extension, humanity..."

He turned, staying silent as footage of the battle for Installation 04 played. The Flood, the Covenant's reactions, the infections and the subsequent destruction were parts Chief watched wordlessly. And when they ended, even though the girls seemed to either be crying or gagging(or both...), he started "That was the battle on the very ring that changed the outcome of the war." He spoke. "Those things are an amalgam of evil. One I won't speak more of... After some ensuing secondary missions, I and some of my allies returned to Earth alive, only to fight the final few battles there and on another Installation. Another Halo. I'll spare you footage of the ensuing conflicts only by telling you that the Covenant had smashed aside the Home Fleet during the second engagement... But we brought down the hammer with our counterstrike after some of the Aliens, the Sangheilli, or Elites, defected."

"The last few weeks were wrought with strife in the Covenant and the death of most of its leadership." Chief added. "And finally, after nearly three decades... In 2553, Humanity won. We won our right to exist and thrive once again. But it was a pyrrhic victory... I don't know the full numbers, but it's estimated half of humanity's population was wiped as a product of the Human-Covenant War, with 74 of our Colonies glassed... We paid the heaviest price humanity paid in centuries." solemnly looking at the footage. To keep himself busy outside of missions, he'd also started compiling a list of those he'd fought side-by-side with... That had not been a good idea. So many dead do damage a man, even if they're Spartan.

The silence from before seemed to weigh the air down as the footage stopped. Infinity took the chip out of the projector and handed it to the Chief, who slid it in his pocket, before adding one final word... "I was made as a soldier to fight against Human insurrection. But my whole life was dedicated, repurposed, to fighting against this kind of existential threat to my species. You all fight now, for the same goals as I do. If you ever have any doubts, any thoughts that haunt you, I've decided to have an open doors policy. As many of the officers I've served under say, 'a healthy fighting force is a happy fighting force'. Morale is important. Don't hesitate to come to my office if you need to ask for anything... I'll probably be awake doing paperwork."

"That is all." He finished. "Dismissed!"

He nodded to Infinity, who smiled sadly, then nodded back... The Chief stepped off the stage and left for his room while the Kansen filed out of the amphitheater, talking about what they'd seen in whisper. Only Enterprise was still seated, rubbing her chin... What she had just witnessed put the Chief's mannerisms and way of acting... She also felt that this was probably too soon for him to reveal stuff like this... But he wanted the trust of every Kansen present on-base, so, what he did made sense... There were still some files left on that drive that she figured he didn't want to show for... Whatever reason...

Sighing, the woman stood up, last to leave beside Infinity... She made a bee-line for Chief's room, walking straight past a group of girls talking about what they just witnessed. As she got to the habitation area, she knocked on Chief's door. Footsteps and the door cracking open was the answer. The Spartan peeked through the crack, only to fully open the door, before asking "Need to talk about something?"

"... I wanted confirmation that all of that was true." Enterprise returned simply.

There was something different about her this time. Stepping away from the door, he let her inside, before pulling up his chair and seating down, while she sat face-to-face with him on the bed... Chief hummed "It's as true as can be. I wouldn't fake my own service record, nor any of that footage."

"... How are you still sane after all of that...?" Enterprise asked, leaning forward.

"I'm a Spartan." He answered without a second thought.

"And what is a 'Spartan', Chief?" She seemed a little less apprehensive, her gaze showing concern.

"A soldier willing to do anything to save their people... One who'd even sacrifice themselves to secure humanity's survival." Chief answered again. "And sacrifice we all did." before he leaned forward too. "I have something to ask you, Enterprise. How good are you at hand to hand combat?" He asked without a second thought... She quirked a brow up and that was enough for Chief. "Consider this a standing order. I'll begin training you for CQC. I saw how easily Bismarck overtook you back when you last fought... I don't care if you're a carrier, you're also human. I can teach you reflexes and basic combat skills."

"... What." Enterprise didn't even bother to fake that as a question.

"We've got Battleships, Cruisers and Destroyers for close combat, I know. But with your affinity for going out there all alone? Unless you want me to permanently keep you ashore, you'll do as I say." He said sternly.

"How are you gonna stop me from going on missions?" She asked, glaring at the man from behind the peak of her hat... He glared right back, crossing his arms and Enterprise tried to stare him down. That only seemed to make him harden his glare. All it took was one second for her to show slight weakness, before she bowed her head and sighed "... Very well."

This man was meant for Officer duty... She'd need to have a talk with Wales about this, though...

"Mhm." Chief nodded. He stood up, then went on to sign a piece of paper. He turned back to Enterprise, before inquiring "Planning on going on another one of your unsanctioned Operations now?"

"Why?" She asked.

"So I know. I'm the Commander, after all." Chief noted absentmindedly, filing the paper away. Enty gave an affirmative nod... He hummed, then said "Very well. Dismissed." and he arranged his uniform. She stood up, turning for the door, but stopped upon hearing him speak again "Enterprise?" and turning to look at him. He continued, his hard expression softened only so slightly "Remember. That door's always open."

... She simply nodded, stepping through the door and closing it. The woman had to take a few seconds to register what also looked to be a half-smile, but she couldn't be sure. The scars on his face now made sense and... Well, he didn't look half-bad as far as soldiers went. She wondered what his full story was. Even the most elite, trained human officers don't act his way, or fight like him...

She sighed, shaking her head as she entered her own room, sitting herself down in her own bed and taking time to process the images. The man had fought through 27 constant years of hell and possibility of extinction with little to no regard for his own health, protecting humans from an alien threat. A soldier made to be by the people. Someone who fought for them... She could respect that about a man... And it didn't help he looked quite handsome... Waitwhat...?!

She shook her head, a red tinge in her cheeks, before swallowing empty. No time for that... Maybe a little patrolling could clear her head of him-_OH CHRIST, STOP._

The girl donned her clothes, heading out. What nor she, nor the Chief had noticed was a glaring Hornet staring at the girl as she left the hallways. She saw Enty entering the Chief's room... And, well, _sister,_ you were in for a world of trouble. More so than before. Hornet shook her head to squelch those thoughts... Why was she still thinking about the Chief's handsome fa-GOD DAMMIT!


	8. The Best Defense

**_AN:Alright... Before we start, I'd like to address some of the latest reviews regarding the Human-Covenant War explanation chapter. This was not an attempt to diminish anybody's efforts or disregard Humanity's losses in that war. The data I looked up was posted on Halo Alpha, the main Wikia for the Halo Fandom, all data being taken from trusted sources and interviews with the developers. Look up the page about the Human-Covenant War and tell me I'm wrong when they, the people who work to compile every ounce of data regarding Halo that is brought forth, say 70+ worlds and over half of the population(that being 23 BILLION PEOPLE) were exterminated. That or read the Halo Encyclopedia yourself and correct Bungie/343 on those mistakes. _**

**_And the Bungie forum said that the "800+ worlds" thing was a non-canon number written up by a non-Bungie employee. Look up the bungie Halo FAQ forums and you'll get your answers regarding to canonicity there, because Bungie answered them. And in answer to that same question, "THE GAMES RANK FIRST", meaning that the Books(As much as I love them) are currently in canon, just not as important as game events._**

**_And for that one reviewer saying that the Chief and Pillar never were landed and that Six, one of the most badass semi-silent protagonists aside from the Chief never had any role in any of this? Play Halo Reach and read the lore about the Fall of Reach itself on Halo Alpha, also stated by BUNGIE to be Canon! "This is what happens when Chief ain't looking" one of the interviewed Bungie staff said regarding Halo Reach. NOBLE Team worked and toiled, sweat and blood, to protect Reach and save the Pillar. I would post a link to the Bungie Forums to tell you people that Reach's canonicity in the Halo-verse is there, but FFN does not allow us to post links. Look up the FAQ yourselves._**

**_P. S. Chief talks a lot too._**

**_Anyways... With that out of the way, back to our scheduled programming._**

* * *

The Chief watched with one eye on the port and another on a clipboard as the supply ships steamed into port with the necessary repair materials and actual human engineers. Sitting on the steps leading up to the main building, the man watched the Engineers leave the transports with everything from new glass panes to even new furniture. His attention was taken away from them by the sound of footsteps. Prince of Wales approached him with a smile.

He stood up and gave her a salute, which she promptly returned, before saying "You'll be happy to know Enterprise has returned from her night patrol."

"I hope she's going to sleep." The Spartan noted. Wales shook her head, to which he simply let out another deep sigh. That woman was hard to deal with. He looked to Wales, then spoke "Can you oversee the repairs? I'm going to go talk to her." before handing her the clipboard. She nodded, then gave him a quick salute and let him go. As he walked toward the pier, he saw her rigging return to ship form in the repair bay, damaged beyond belief or compare with multiple cracks, damaged gun turrets and even a cracking deck.

She stepped off from the pier, bags under her eyes more visible than ever, before... She collapsed. Chief's eyes went wide as he broke into a sprint, running to her side. He picked her up, supporting her head with one hand, before ordering "You're stuck ashore until your rigging can be repaired and you managed to get some sleep." as he picked her up. "I'm taking you to Vestal."

"I'm fine..." She murmured, weakened. "Put me down..."

"Not before I get you somewhere were you can lay down." He answered, walking into the medical and repair wing of the place... Enterprise looked from underneath her cap's peak, to see surprised Engineers staring at them, some fearful even... She looked to Chief, then motioned toward the men with as little motion as she could. He looked toward them, knowing well enough about Enterprise being a local star for these people... And a hint of Deja Vu crossed Chief's mind. With a defeated bow of his head, he set the girl back down on her feet, before saying "I'm still dragging you to Vestal."

"Ugh..." Enterprise frowned "Fine..."

As the two walked, with Enterprise stumbling every-so-often, through the halls of the base, Enterprise quipped "Guess this means that fistifighting is out of the question for now?" to which the Spartan hummed. This woman had the audacity to joke like that when she had just dropped to the floor because of lack of sleep. She leaned against him, nearly tripping again, just as they entered Vestal's room...

"Oh, God!" The Repair Kansen jumped to her feet "Enterprise! What the hell happened!?"

"Just a bit off-balance..." She answered half-mouthed.

"A _BIT_ OFF BALANCE!? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN!? LOOK AT YOURSELF!" Vestal berated with anger, moving to help Chief take her to a bed... She turned to Chief as they settled her in, then said with a softer expression "Thanks... This girl's gonna kill herself at some point soon."

"Hope not." Chief noted blankly. "How's Infinity and the others?"

"I've done my best to repair Infinity's rigging, but I'm not sure what her status is. Some of the Stridents offered to help gather parts, but... I think we'll need the exact material her armor is made of to fix her." Vestal noted "And right now, I can't order it..." She eyed the Enterprise now laying on the bed, before saying "I gotta watch missus Grey Ghost here to make sure she doesn't do something stupid."

"Mhm... I'll see about writing up a requisition form for Titanium Alloy when I get back to my desk." He spoke calmly, looking to Infinity. "Does this place have a gym, Vestal?"

"Huh? Wait, Titan-... Wow..." The girl paused with eyes wide, before sighing "Yeah, there's a gym not too far away in the base's confines."

The Spartan nodded, then stepped off, letting Vestal tend to the resting Enterprise. After a short trip to his room, to look for anything of interest and leave his handgun in the desk, he marched to the gym. The events these last few days had gotten to him finally. He had managed to process every necessary bit of data to his understanding of this place, which was no easy task in and of itself.

And as Enterprise watched him leave, a few thoughts crossed her mind. She felt a sort of kinship with the Chief and she didn't know why. The man acted much in the same way she did. And she doubted he caught any whiff of sleep either last night, just from the way his eyes looked. But here he was, still marching on without even a sign... Maybe she should take his offer. Might help her further her goals too...

An uninterrupted walk through the halls later, the Spartan was at the gym. He took off his uniform's dress jacket and tie, leaving himself only in his white shirt, pants and shoes. Taking a pack of tape, he began wrapping his wrists and hands proper, all the while scanning the place. A boxing ring, some stationary bikes, treadmills, punching bags and all the amenities. Chief was sure, if he looked hard enough, he'd find a pool...

He posted himself near by on of the punching bags, before setting his jacket and tie down, followed by his hat. He started to stretch, warm up and by the time he was done, the punching bag was just ready and waiting. He took his usual combat stance. Left foot forward, right foot back and perpendicular to the right's axis to provide support, dominant hand, or the right in this case, clenched into a fist behind the left...

He cocked his fist back and delivered the first jab, before beginning to form a rhythm. 2 left, 2 right, one left and three right. He bounced from one foot to the other, delivering punch after punch into the bag with little to no force, but with high speed. He intermittently threw a hay-maker or an uppercut in-between the punches, but he was pulling them for now, holding back for better strength... He needed to unload some of his current cocktail of feelings into something without hurting a real person. And as he worked, he started to rerun through the events that led up to this moment.

The alien ships that attacked them. Gold-shining hieroglyphs was the only difference between them and the Forerunners' ships. Otherwise, the design resembled clearly Forerunner ones, perhaps even Promethean. Following that, he wound up in the care of a set of multi-national women whom were apparently based on the souls of humanity's First and Second World War warships... All of them were humans, however. With all the flaws, idiocy and standard patterns of a normal human being. If anyone was a good example of that, it was Enterprise, with her stubbornness and her arguments-or lack thereof-with her sister.

John didn't know the full story. Possible issues relating to historical canon of the Enterprise's life... He probably did not want to know either, but he knew that this kind of relationship issue would probably lead to confrontational behavior that would damage both morale and unit efficiency... And throwing two Eagle Union(What a stupid name...) carriers in the brig or psych ward because one tried to kill the other for whatever reason would not look good in tabloids, nor for the morale of the troops... Especially since one is supposed to be the Grey Ghost, the best of the best... Woman was unstable, but he didn't want to be chewed out for taking her off the roster _without _actual reasons aside from possible mental breakdown...

That brought another point forth. He'd been elected as _commander _of a group of warship-women, without his permission. As he intensified both the strength and speed of his strikes, he could only think how he had his own missions to undertake. Storm Covenant were still alive and providing quite the issue for the UNSC and its Sangheilli allies. He had been given free reign to select missions for Blue Team and run training courses and War Games as much as he liked, day and night, without stop. The UNSC needed him to finish up the job, to deal with the Covenant's last remnants before they managed to coalesce and pose a real threat to Humanity again... And the damn Forerunners and Prometheans...

Now...? Now he had to command an actual _fleet. _The irony of the situation drew him back to one of his discussions with Lord Hood and the joke about ranks he'd made... If Lord Hood could see Chief now, he'd probably be laughing... But Chief didn't think he was gonna be seeing anyone else outside the Stridents. Not from the UNSC. And not for a while... He gritted his teeth behind narrowed lips, intensifying the force behind each strike further.

... He needed to remember he now had to care for a good few dozen soldiers. He couldn't think of them as anything less than actual soldiers. They were there, they were created to fight an Alien invasion and... God dammit, how many more parallels to his world did he have to draw!?

His elbow was at a 90 degree angle when he prepared to deliver the punch. And with all that force behind it, the right fist, aside from some sore, scraped knuckles and missing tape, sent the punching bag flying off its hook, to the floor, with a decent-sized hole in the middle, spewing sand all across the floor as it flew a good half-foot. The Spartan lowered his arm, taking a more relaxed stance, before sighing and closing his eyes. Rubbing his temples, the Spartan felt what he hadn't felt in forever:the mild pain of a headache.

Usually, he'd squelch it or outright ignore it until it went away, but this time...? He'd rather feel it. Pain kept him alert...

He sat himself down on the bench where his jacket and cap were, staring at the sand pouring onto the floor from the wound. He let his shoulders sag as he finally felt a bead of sweat run down his cheek. He wiped it away, working to remove the tape from his hands and toss it aside. He'd made the mistake of not taking a towel, but in his rush, the Spartan simply forgot.

Just as he was taking his uniform's jacket to put back on, he heard footsteps. His gaze shifted from the rows of medals pinned upon its chest, to see Enterprise standing there. He looked back to his uniform, putting the jacket back on, before addressing her "I thought I said you're gonna be stuck in bed." as he picked up his cap. Enterprise huffed through her nose and Chief was unsure if that was a snort or...

"I believe your exact words were that I was 'stuck ashore' until I'm fixed." Enterprise stated simply, before pointing to the cut-down Sandbag and complimenting "Mean right hook."

"Thanks." He said, standing up. "Why're you here?"

"I've had some time to think while Vestal berated me. Do you still want to do those training sessions?" She asked, to which Chief's brow quirked up. She answered his unasked question "I want more flexibility at sea and a . And the more I thought about it, the more I realized you were right. Bismarck nearly had me out of the fight in three moves, while I tried to maintain range and failed. If I ever get caught off-guard like that again..."

"You won't be walking or even limping out of that one. Good thing you realized." Chief noted bluntly. "Want to start now?"

"I've got nothing better to do until my rigging is fixed." Enty said, removing her Navy coat and putting it on the bench. "We doing this with or without gloves?"

"This isn't sparring, Enterprise. Not yet, at the very least." He said, once again removing his uniform. He didn't want to stain his shirt, so he put it onto the bench too too, leaving only his pants, shoes and white tank top. Enterprise had to focus really hard not to blush as she tossed her peaked cap on top of his. He taped his own hands, then threw her the tape... And of course, she did a sloppy job of it. Sighing, the Spartan approached her and, without a word, started working o nthe taping. This gave Enterprise a clean look at the man's build. And she was definitely impressed.

Every muscle from the shoulder down to his legs was a well-oiled heavy machine, well-built, well-maintained and presenting some of the oddest scars and cuts the woman had seen. The fact that he was so close she could literally _feel_ the heat radiating off his body was another thing. That, or it was just her cheeks turning more red than they already were. She tried and thankfully succeeded in suppressing the telltale signs of embarrassment... She had no time for this. This man was a Commander and nothing more.

After he was done, Chief walked toward the boxing ring.

"So how does this g-guh..." She paused as she caught a pair of boxing gloves mid-flight.

"Put those on," Chief said, putting on a pair of what looked like flat versions of those same gloves. "And get in here." He the finished as he entered between the cords, into the boxing ring. Enterprise followed, donning the gloves as she entered the ring. Chief spread his legs and raised both of his hands, flat surfaces pointing at Enterprise. She raised both brows at him, before the Chief started "You got the gloves. I got these things. You hit these things as I tell you."

"Alright... Seems simple enough?" Enterprise spoke, raising her fists... John sighed.

"Not a good stance." He spoke, lowering his hands and going behind her. He tried to replicate his stance while explaining "Front foot pointed straight at the opponent. Back foot further behind your center of mass and heel facing perpendicular to the other's axis. Dominant hand behind the other, both fists raised to about nose level." And he made the adjustments himself, until he thought he saw it fit... "There."

He went back in front of her, raising both hands. "Ready?"

Enty nodded...

"Left."

She jabbed with her left fist into his. The punch was weak. "Mmhmm... Right." Chief added. The second punch came in, hitting the right with her right. "Left, again." And once more, the punch was the same strength. "Right, then left. Maintain the rhythm." He ordered her. She remained static on her feet as she delivered her weak punches into the 'gloves'. Maybe it was just Chief's enhancements, but Enterprise didn't have that much strength... He spoke "Stop." before lowering his hands and saying "At ease. We've got a problem."

"What?" She asked with slight worry.

Chief removed the gloves and tossed them onto the side of the ring. He then looked to her and said "You lack upper body strength and you're about as sloppy in your movements as I figured you'd be." before looking to her "If I want you to be able to fight hand-to-hand and at least have a chance of living, you'll be spending more time in the gym than you may like."

"Do I have a choice?" The girl asked, taking off the gloves and tossing them aside.

"No." He responded bluntly. The woman hummed, then nodded. She knew Chief was a serious man and a Veteran, but this was borderline more than she expected out of him. He was willing to directly train one of his subordinates to ensure that she can survive any further engagement with anyone she may encounter. She appreciated that much about him... Even if he seemed a little inflexible. Sighing, she nodded in agreement.


	9. The Calm

The first training session had gone... Well?

Chief knew well enough that he'd basically made Enterprise drop to the floor due to overworking her. So a win-win in both the sense of getting their best ship even better training and of getting her some _goddamn sleep. _He could swear he saw Mendez when watching Vestal keep a balance between polite thanks and some sort of pseudo-threats toward him when she'd left last evening. Chief had since been in his office, crunching numbers regarding their supply situation. Ammunition for the rigs was good, fuel was as well, but the main issue here was the alternate fuel for Infinity and her girls...

He heard a knock on the door. "Come in" was his response as he continued writing out data. And the orange hair of a familiar new arrival of the fleet appeared. Wearing her white cloak, with red and blue clothing underneath, Cleveland poked her head through the door, her trademark grin present on her face. Chief nodded to the self-proclaimed Knight of the Seas, before setting down his pen. He looked to her and asked "Something the matter, Cleveland?"

"No, sir. Just came to check on ya..." She answered, then drew out a whistle as she stepped into the office. "Nice new place."

... Chief hadn't failed to notice the modifications brought about to the once barren office. Apparently, the design had been handled by Prince of Wales and, indeed, the office itself gave off that feeling of royalty. Red wallpaper, with golden linings, red velvet curtains, mahogany bookshelves between which the main desk, a big old sculpted piece of redwood, sat nicely. His chair had been replaced with a reinforced steel and leather office chair you'd see in an Admiral's place. The bookshelves were also lined neatly with books, of course and the drawers of the desk contained paraphernalia you'd expect to find in such an office.

In-between the door and the desk resided new couches after the last ones were blown to hell...

He wasn't fond of the ultra-British Royalty-style and would've much preferred something simple, rather than this. But alas... With a sigh, he nodded "Thanks... Wales helped design the rebuilt office... I'm surprised she was so quick about it, though."

"Cool. Yeah, the Royal Navy has an eye for designs." Cleve answered, taking a few steps forward. "How're ya getting acclimatized, sir?"

"I'm fine, Cleveland." Nodded the Chief "Thanks for the concern."

"Hey, someone's gotta have the Commander's back, sir." She noted, walking toward one of the bookshelves and looking over the title... "Huh, a lot of Wales' favorite writers." Before pulling out a book about the most famous battles in the Anglo-Zulu War. Ian Knight's _Zulu Rising. _She chuckled, then quipped "I'm more fond of the movie, actually." with a smile, before handing the Chief the book.

"Hmm." He pursed his lips "Seems like an interesting read... Come to think of it, I keep hearing Wales humming 'Men of Harlech'. I get the link, but..."

"'S probably because of the movie. I and her watched it together a while ago." Cleve smirked. "Also, be careful around Belfast when she starts humming any sort of tune. She kinda starts acting funny."

Well, her name was based on the Northern Irish capital, so he assumed it was drink-related. He turned back to the paperwork at hand and felt Cleve leaning over his shoulder. Slowly turning his head toward her, he asked "Something the matter?" before turning to write. She shook her head, just reading some of the forms Chief had already signed. Cleveland had decided to step out while he was completing the last forms, after bidding a quick goodbye.

... And the Chief set the pen down moments later, neatly stacking and setting the papers aside. He heard the door open and looked ahead, to see a familiar face. He nodded "Belfast. Need anything?"

"I've come to you at the orders of Her Majesty. She says you have been up almost the entire night doing paperwork and after a long-winded training session with Lady Enterprise, no less." Belfast explained, maintaining her regal posture and the smile. Chief nodded simply, to which Belfast approached the desk, sitting herself down on the couch in front, asking "Is there anything you require, sir?"

"Not for now." Chief responded to the Maid.

"Are you certain?" She asked.

"Fairly..." He returned, looking from under his cap at the woman in whose eyes he could see a definite worry. "Belfast, I appreciate your concern, but I am perfectly capable of caring for myself." He added, arranging his tie. His eyes wandered onto the book that Cleve had picked out from the shelf, before he picked it up. Belfast hummed thoughtfully, before slowly standing up.

She bowed respectfully, then said "I'm sorry, sir, but you missed breakfast today." with the smug undertone of trying to prove him wrong.

"I have MREs at the ready. When I run out, I'll consider joining you at breakfast." He noted, opening the book.

"That's oddly contradictory of the 'Open Doors' statement..." The Cruiser murmured to herself, frowning. Standing up, she spoke softly, smile returning "Eitherway, let it be known that if you require anything, sir, I am at your service." before bowing her usual style. Chief hummed, nodding to her, before muttering a 'thanks' in answer. She hummed, pressing her lips together... Going by signs and actions alone would be dangerous, but she, too, knew that the Master Chief resembled Enterprise too much... That same 'Heroic' vibe, with those underlying tones of sadness.

... Sighing, Belfast stepped out after bidding goodbye, leaving Chief to his reading. He'd studied the Zulu's battle tactics before. Smart movement and well-trained people for warfare, even though they were just a loose conglomerate of tribes. They did manage to inflict a severe defeat to the British at Isandlwana... He wondered how alike that war and Azur Lane's were. A highly-advanced Alien Race with all the nick-nacks of modern-day Wet Navies versus World War 2 ships with armament that requires getting up-close and personal...

* * *

_**With Bismarck...**_

Gunfire raked her surroundings. Battleship Bismarck fired her batteries in response to the enemy's own. She watched one of the blonde-haired maidens of Azur Lane's Iris Libre, Jeanne D'Arc, surge toward her with her sword drawn. The KMS Warship parried the first strike from the enemy's sword, pushing it aside, before delivering an uppercut to the white-wearing 'Holy' Ship's chin, making her stagger.

Her Secondaries aligned and released a full barrage into Jeanne's body, burning through her armor and damaging two of her four turrets. She then aimed her primaries and let loose... The eight projectiles only had a short distance flight. Their grouping was tight enough that all but one of the shells struck the Iris Libre warship dead center, before she plunged her spear through the smoke, feeling it strike through the thinned armor, hearing it tear into said armor like it was cloth... And then into flesh...

As the smoke began to clear, Bismarck saw through it, white hair and... Deep-blue eyes, wide and staring at her with disbelief.

The Iron Blood warship woke up with a start, letting loose an admittedly short, but loud scream, before staring with bug eyes at the dark room around her and breathing heavily. She was laying on a futon , with only a crop top and a pair of short pants as her pajamas. The blonde warship wiped tears away from her eyes, shaking her head to try and clear the bloody migraine that decided to hammer into her skull now, like a beating drum...

... That must... Just have been a nightmare... She hoped it was.

Standing up and wrapping herself in her blanket, the girl walked to the wall to turn on her light. Flicking on the switch revealed her oriental, Japanese-styled room. It was barren, save for her uniform strung about on her chair and desk. A Kotetsu table lay beside her, but with the blanket removed for her to use as a thicker cover. Otherwise, save for the paper-thin walls, through which she could only assume her neighbor had heard her scream, the room was barren.

And indeed, a pair of footsteps, followed by the image of a shadow running past the walls, lit up by the outer lamps. Sliding the door open, a striking girl came into view. With black hair caught in a ponytail by a white bow and with amber eyes staring at her(and both hands resting on the sheath and hilt of a Katana clipped to her belt) the IJN cruiser Takao came into view.

"Are you well, madam Bismarck?" She asked with urgency...

"I'm fine, Takao. Just a nightmare." The woman sighed, arranging the blanket over herself. "Thank you for the concern."

Easing her tense stance and unclasping her hands from her weapon and breathing a sigh of relief. She gave her a sympathetic look, then said "Well, I get those too every so often. I find talking about it helps me."

"I... Think I'm okay for now, Takao. Thank you for the offer." She spoke calmly, sitting herself down onto her futon again. She looked at the light switch beside Takao, then asked "Uhm... Do you mind?" with a few thoughts running through her mind as she stared at the Samurai. Takao simply nodded, walking toward the switch and flicking it... What kinda room needed two Light Switches, Gott knew, but... Well... "Thanks..."

The IJN ship bowed, smiling, before turning to leave... Bismarck attempted not to stare at anything below waist-level while Takao strutted out of the room. Turning one eye toward Bismarck, the Cruiser Kansen spoke "Good night, madame." softly... Bismarck responded with a 'Good night' of her own, eyes still locked down. She leaned back down on the thin mattress, trying to keep her mind off the dream... She didn't know where her sister was and, with the current events developing between her and the Sakura Empire's carriers, as well as some... "Benefactors" she wouldn't dare name... Their plans were developing accordingly...

... Takao had pretty nice thighs...

* * *

**_Back at Pearl Harbor_**

Javelin watched the Rigging of the Strident girls floating high above them with a smile. She'd bet they had some kind of ultra-powerful gear on those ships And if that was the case, they were probably some of the omst dangerous Navy warships currently available to the Pearl Harbor fleet. Too bad they were stuck in dock due to... Fuel problems, she'd heard.

Hearing thundering footsteps echoing behind her, the girl turned her head. She watched a kitten prancing around, meowing happily, before it stopped in front of her. It was a tiny one, with brown fur and green eyes. The Royal kansen took a knee, smiling as she pet it... "_**WATCH OUT!**_"A voice cried to her in a strong accent. She looked up just in time to see someone stomping their armored feet into the ground and trying to slow themselves down... The girl gasped, picking up the kitten and getting out of the way, before hearing the ship trip over the side of the pier and...

Strike a mooring down below, crying out "**_CUNT!_**"

Then the floor of the dock, yelling a bemoaned **_"FUCK!" _**

And finally the water with her face, this time groaning "Fucking... **_Wankstain of a dock... Owwww..._**"

The Kansen straightened up, rubbing multiple parts of her body and probably thankful the water was shallow. She rubbed her head, feeling it for bumps, as she half-murmured, half-groaned "Fucken' Christ, that was rough... Ugh, I need better brakes..." to herself.

"Oh, my god! Are you alright?!" She heard a voice utter out and, looking to her left, she saw the violet-haired, greenish-blue-eyed Royal destroyer Javelin. The kansen grinned, one eye closed due to the throbbing headache she felt reverberating even into her right ear. But the toothy grin showed she was actually fine... Even if her armor looked like it'd taken a decent bit of burn damage.

"I think I'll be fine... Fuck me dead, that cat stopped right in front'a'ya..." She mused. Javelin helped her onto her feet...

"I'm Javelin... And are you sure you're okay?" The Shipgirl gave her a worried gaze.

"Oi, c'mon... 's just a few bumps." The Kansen stretched a bit. "Not like I haven't had worse in my days scrappin' with the Covvie Storm forces." And she maintained that grin. Extending her hand, the girl introduced herself "I'm UNSC Strident Frigate Canberra. The 'Strayan of our little Dream Team of super-ships." with pride in her voice. Javelin's eyes went wide and she smiled.

"Oh, My God! You're one of the owners of those riggings up there! That's so awesome!"

"Heheh... Yeh, pretty cool." The girl sighed, then groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Listen... Javelin, was it? Can we get somethin' ta eat and... Hopefully drink? I need to get something to dull this fuckin' headache." to which Javelin nodded, helping her back up onto the pier itself. Canberra cocked her head to the right upon hearing a Meow, then warned "I'm watchin ya, cunt!" to which the Cat answered with a confused tilt of its head to the left.

The two girls strolled forward toward the mess hall building, through the park around the trees planted for decoration... And found someone sleeping on the deck. Javelin seemed to know her, simply by reaction. Apparently, this girl, white hair, red eyes and everything, was the USS Laffey. Canbee had heard of her quite extensive service record... And suicide run.

Eitherway, once the girls had finally arrived at the mess hall, they found it occupied. Lunch time, of course. The trio sat themselves down face-to-face, with the small Unicorn(the carrier and her toy) joining them. Canberra watched as the girls started talking, before Javelin turned toward Canberra, who simply sat there, fiddling with what looked like her fork and knife...

"You alright, Canberra?" Javelin asked.

"'m fine..." The girl said, trying to pull apart the utensils "Fuckin'... Christ..."

"Hey, I can help with that." Laffey said.

"I think I got it... Laff..." The woman strained... Before splitting the two pieces and sending each of them flying. One slammed into a pillar with enough force to dig it into a wall, while the other cracked a window... An awkward smile and wide eyes of shock and fear were the expression that now occupied the Strident sister's face. "Whoops... Well, fuck..."

"WHO THE _HELL _MANAGED TO THROW A PLASTIC KNIFE WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO DO _THAT _TO CONCRETE!?" A female voice... Belonging to Tokyo, apparently... Bellowed.

"Oooh, fuck a duck." Canbee murmured, hearing the stomping feet of her sister marching toward her, wearing both her armor and an apron covered in what looked like chocolate. Slowly and with a slight tremble, the Australian Frigate turned her head to meet her sister's furious gaze, then whimpered "H-Hi, T-cha-"

"DON'T T-CHAN ME! WHAT THE _FUCK_ ARE YOU DOING!? YOU NEARLY TOOK MY FUCKING HEAD OFF!" Her sister bellowed.

"H-Hey, chill... It was a mistake." The woman said. "I was trying to pull them apart. Didn't expect them to fly with that much force..."

"Mist-..." Tokyo gritted her teeth, then bowed her head, sighing defeatedly "Just... Try not to fucking _yank _them apart, okay?"

"Sure, sis... Ya okay? I see you're in an apron." She noted.

Tokyo nodded "Yeah, I kinda chose to do something while I'm on base. Would lose my mind otherwise... So I'm bringing food to the table."

"Sweet. Know any jobs I can do? After so much time in Sickbay, I kinda need shit ta do too." Can asked, before Javelin cleared her throat, taking their attention toward her... Can nodded "Ah, right, sis... These are Javelin and Laffey, as well as... I'm gonna assume Unicorn. Local destroyers and Light Carrier... And apparently some of my new friends."

"'Sup, everyone!" Tokyo nodded to them. "A pleasure! I'm Tokyo, Strident-1."

And as the girls started exchanging small-talk, with Tokyo still going about her work, Wales watched from above as the first interactions between the Azur Lane Kansen and the UNSC ones formed friendships. She was happy to have found out that they and the Chief's forces shared the same goals, of Humanity's survival in the face of evil monstrosities not meant for man to see... It was eerie, however. The descriptions of the events that occurred meant that they'd been damaged in the drop, fact proven by Vestal's still-extensive repairs on their hulls.

She trusted Chief, but going by the way he was overworking himself without sleep, much like the currently knocked-out Enterprise, she felt he too was hiding something. She'd seen the way Hornet gazed upon her older sister and didn't like it. She was sure Chief did too, but if that was Enterprise's reason, what was his for working so hard? She'd have to ask Bel to find out as she did now... Maybe even institute her as his maid.

... That would probably be weird, but she needed to make sure Chief would be fine. He was supposed to be commander of an international coalition after all. Hmm... She needed to also consider possibly reinforcing Europe. The Azur Lane fleet stationed near by their home continent was apparently facing hardships in the form of newer Sirens being deployed. She dreaded thinking what her comrades were fighting...

But then again, they had the Warsaw Coalition's forces there, so...

Blyzkawica could probably handle things until they all came over...


	10. The Attack of the Ghost Ships

Enterprise murmured something to herself as she woke about never overworking herself again. She stood up straight, rubbing her eyes as she looked around. She stood up, putting on her overcoat and buttoning it up, before groggily stepping outside of her room. She stepped down the hall as she heard the very distinct wailing of a certain instrument coming from the main hall. She wondered how early it was in the morning for somebody to be playing an instrument... And found herself seeing it was 10 in the AM.

She saw Belfast, seated on one of the couches, practicing what looked like an instrument in plaid. A Bagpipe, to be exact. And from the song she was singing, she was trying to raise morale... Around her were around 10 Destroyers, of both Royal and Eagle ranks, sitting and listening to her... As odd as it was to see a ship named after the capital of the Northern Point of an island owned by the Royal Navy's home nation play the bagpipes, an instrument famous in Glasgow and the local northernmost areas, she had to admit, the song she played was eerily calming.

The Kansen approached the playing Maid, before leaning herself against a pillar next to her and listening in on the song. It warmed her a bit to listen to it, but hearing footsteps took her out of it. She turned to see Hornet and gasped... With a quickened pace, she scurried away from the scene, before approaching the door out. She looked over toward her rigging, to see it'd been fixed. Sighing in relief, she walked toward the dock, before feeling a hand land on her shoulder, sending a shiver up her spine as she thought it was Hornet...

And upon turning, she breathed an unnoticeable sigh of relief. The Chief walked beside her and spoke "I thought I said you're stuck here until Vestal gets to fixing your rigging."

"And it's..." She turned her head to see it still cracked and damaged "_Not _fixed... I could swear-"

"I'd suggest getting back to sleep or eating something. Could be a problem relating to that." Chief said, more as an order than a suggestion. Enterprise narrowed her lips, frowning. She looked to the Chief just as she heard her stomach groan. With a defeated sigh, the girl stepped off. She hummed to herself as she heard the Chief entering the building. He held the door for her, allowing her inside, before they split off.

Enterprise had gone over to the Repair/Medical wing instead of following his advice, to talk to Vestal. She found her patching Infinty's armor plating up this time. The warship seemed to be (mostly) in working order now. But Enterprise found it hard to believe this kind of warship could exist. Such advanced tech was so far beyond Azur Lane's own Navy to summon, but soon, perhaps...?

She sighed, then said "Hello, Infinity, Vestal."

"Oh, Enterprise. 'Sup." Infinity waved. "Here to talk to Vesty I presume."

"Yeah..." Enterprise nodded, before hearing a door burst open behind them. She turned to see Wales running toward Chief's office, a set of files in her hand... She pursed her lips, then turned to Vestal and spoke "I'm gonna need my gear fixed, Vestal... I feel like we're gonna need it now." before dashing off toward the office too. She burst through the door. The Chief stared at the report papers with a hint of surprise, turning to see Enterprise approaching only a moment before he extended the report to her.

She took it, to read up and... Froze...

'THIS IS THE BATTLESHIP UKRAINA, BROADCASTING ON ALL ALLIED FREQUENCIES. AN IRON BLOOD OFFENSIVE HAS BEGUN IN THE BALTIC SEA. REQUEST IMMEDIATE NAVAL SUPPORT FROM ANY AZUR LANE FORCES, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.'

"The Northern Parliament's forces." Enty mused, eyes wide.

"Guess who's attacking them..." Wales noted as she handed her photos... Air recon. A woman with white hair, scarlet eyes, a long-coat and black uniform, alongside a swarm of Destroyers and multiple Cruisers... KMS Graf Zeppelin. Enterprise's Iron Blood counterpart. Although she was generally considered an incomplete warship by historical standards, Graf had originally been a beacon of stability and hope for the Iron Blood's navy... And for Azur Lane...

Now...?

She looked to Chief, who nodded gravely to her "I asked the Atlantic branch of Azur Lane to see what they can do... Thankfully, they were keen enough to send a rather large battlegroup. We'll also be dispatching our own..." And he turned to Wales, before saying "Take Samuel B. Roberts, Laffey, Javelin, Illustrious and Unicorn with you and make for the Panama Canal."

"I want to deploy too." Enterprise leaned onto Chief's desk "Please, I know people there..."

"... Is your rig fixed?" He asked, looking at her.

"N-No, but..."

"It's nominal!" Vestal bellowed, bursting the room. "Enty's rig is in working order for now, Chief..."

The Spartan eyed both of them curiously, then hummed and rubbed his eyes... He nodded "Permission granted..."

He hoped he wasn't gonna regret this...

* * *

**_Baltic Sea, near Helsinki, fifth day of the Siege of Sankt Petersburg. (Approximately 5 days after Distress call had been sent)_**

Under a clouded sky, the hellish wail of Junkers 87C Dive Bombers echoed across the blackening sea as a squadron of Northern Parliament Warships struggled to hold the line. Leading the beleaguered defenders was a battleship that had formerly served the Soviet Union, but now acted as defender to the Northern Parliament's brotherhood... Ukraina glared at the tidal wave of aircraft approaching them as her and her Destroyer Escort set the sky alight with High-Explosive Anti-Air shells.

"DO NOT CEASE FIRE, NO MATTER WHAT!" She spoke in a East-European accent, pushing a bit of her waving golden hair out of her blue eyes. "Those in Sankt Petersburg and Helsinki are watching us, _tavarische_! Hold the line! Do not let any traitor scum or their craft through into this gulf!" And she aimed her gun batteries with a death glare toward the silhouettes in the far distance as she spoke "Iron Blood traitors! This is your final warning! RETREAT NOW OR BE ANNIHILATED UNDER THE NORTHERN PARLIAMENT'S GUNS!"

"TORPEDO BOATS, ON APPROACH!" Cried one of the destroyers as she raised her gun, next to the eldest warship in the fleet, the Potemkin. "_Kommandir_, what do we do!?"

"Gun them down, Opytny!" Ukraina ordered. Her guns thundered in response to the enemy's advancing wave. Avrora's guns joined in too, striking down a squadron of PT Boats on first salvo. She looked up, then pulled back the destroyer as three Ju-87s made their Dive Run on her. Three heavy bombs splashed down in the water, detonating moments after and sending pillars of seawater up into the sky.

Opytny looked back to Ukraina and nodded "Thank you..."

"None of my comrades die here, Opytny." The woman noted, training her AA Guns at the enemy's air power and opening fire once again. She turned her head to Potemkin and her escort, Avrora, before asking "How likely are we to see Zeppelin's forces advancing on us?"

"Very." Potemkin stated, watching the skies with interest as she saw the enemy's planes fall out of the sky... "I do not know why you are so afraid of these planes, girls... They seem to go down as easily as any other enemy." She spoke softly, a smile on her pale face.

"It only takes one to get through with a payload, Potemkin." Warned Avrora. "Ukraina, I request permission to engage with a squadron of destroyers, try and remove Zeppelin from the equation."

"And divide our defenses, Avrora? Denied." The Battleship responded, before bringing one of her turrets forward as bullets raked her armor. "We need to hold the line..."

"Enemy Cruiser, Admiral Hipper, is moving toward us!" Another destroyer reported, aiming her torpedo tubes "Comrade Commander, I have a firing solution!" And, receiving a nod from the Commanding warship, she let loose the torpedoes with a grin and the battle cry one would expect out of the Northern Parliament's ships... "_ZA RODINU_!"... The Torpedoes darted toward the enemy, with Hipper only noticing them seconds before impact...

She altered course, before aiming her guns and, with a grin, letting loose a stream of shells toward them. Two of the Destroyers took the brunt of the strikes, sending them staggering backward. Opytny stared back at her sisters, then turned around and aimed her guns, gritting her teeth. Avrora's own gun turrets traversed and belched fire, Hipper listing to the left to avoid the shells, before letting loose a barrage of her own Torpedoes.

The Warships scattered to avoid the enemy's projectiles... But one of the two Destroyers struck by Hipper's shells was not fast enough... The only thing that Opytny got to witness of her sister was the shock streaking across her face as the Torpedo's explosive charge detonated below her. Burned, darkened and listing, the Destroyer Soyuz dropped into the sea, only to sink below the waterline.

"SOYUZ!" Opytny cried, eyes wide. She swiveled about, toward Hipper, with _murder_ in her amber eyes... And she cried, her voice hoarse "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU IRON BLOOD WHORE!"

"Opytny, wait!" Avrora started, watching as the Destroyer surged forth, firing on the move toward the Cruiser kansen... Hipper merely grinned as she saw the Destroyer cock her fist back. And upon swinging, her fist caught... Hipper had caught it mid-flight, a raised brow toward the Destroyer, before lifting her up off from the face of the water and aiming her turrets at her exposed belly, all while the destroyer's eyes filled with tears and she squirmed to get out of the grip. Avrora stared on, aiming her guns as she tried to find an opening.

Yet the opening never came. With the simultaneous roar of Hipper's guns, eight shells pierced Opytny's body and the struggling kansen fell limp, her clothing torn and equipment destroyed, singed. Hipper tossed the corpse aside, into the water, discarding her like she was a piece of trash... And Avrora froze, watching as the corpse sunk into the black depths of the sea. All she could do was let out in whimper the dead Kansen's name... "Opytny..."

"No..." Potemkin paused. With narrowed eyes, the ancient Battleship's turrets turned to greet the enemy. "Hipper! What have we done to your people to cause this!?"

The Iron Blood Carrier Graf Zeppelin approached from behind Hipper with an air of then mused "You live..." As she launched another wave of bombers. Interception fire was minimal, but present, as the enemy craft dived on the warships. The Potemkins' gun batteries bellowed as she moved to dodge the bombers, letting loose a barrage of 8 large shells to respond to Hipper's own 8.

"Hold the line!" Ukraina cried to the destroyers "Don't let your sisters' sacrifices be in vain!"

Three of them moved forth, forming a firing line. Their 5' and 6' guns let loose a constant stream of rounds in a constant drumming. The second line of destroyers from St. Petersburg joined in too, to reinforce. Around 14 destroyers now entered combat alongside a Battleship, a pre-Dreadnaught and an armored cruiser against enemy Heavies and a Carrier...

Hell rained down in the form of bombs and machine guns on the destroyers, tearing cloth and damaging equipment, but the girls of the Destroyer Squadron refused to budge from their line, advancing and trying to dodge in unison, while Potemkin and Ukraina bombarded the enemy. Hipper and her escort PT Boats and even some Destroyers, Z1, Z20 and Z24 among them, danced circles around their shells, with Graf continually launching air attacks.

Hipper's guns never once ceased barking. And another Northern destroyer took too many shots. The youngest of the Sisters collapsed as she tried to dodge A Junkers' dive. She fell face-first into the water, not to rise, but to sink... Yet neither the Destroyers, nor Avrora had time to weep. Their guns barked in response, the always-mobile ships weaving through the enemy's own gunfire and only taking out Gunboats, not the enemy's destroyers or even Hipper...

"NOT ONE STEP BACK, COMRADES!" Ukraina roared, letting loose another barrage toward Hipper as her AA Guns worked on keeping the enemy's bombers away. Her Secondaries aimed for the Iron Blood's Z Sisters, small-caliber guns raking the water, pillars rising up into the sky made of the salted water that now served as three young Destroyers' grave.

"Za Rodinu..." Potemkin murmured through gritted teeth, her guns ranged for Hipper...

The Enemy Cruiser dodged the explosive shells, pushing through the line of destroyers with enough force to break the Vanguard. She grabbed one of the Destroyers by the throat, before executing her and throwing her aside. And as she aimed for Potemkin, she found herself blindsided by a charging Avrora. An elbow in the gut and a punch to the face from the Russian Kansen sent Hipper staggering, a guttural growl escaping her throat.

Her eyes went wide as Avrora, with the icy glare of the Warship they expected her to be, let loose a salvo from her cannons. The explosive rounds bracketed Hipper's body, but the response was a dozen shells and three bombs landing on the distracted Russian cruiser, damaging Turret number 4 and outright breaking Number 3. Avrora fell to her knees, grabbing her waist with her right hand and gritting her teeth...

Ukraina's AA Guns destroyed the enemy's bombers... But Graf seemed to have an endless supply. She gasped as three torpedoes and around fifteen shells struck her as Z1 and Z20 crested the minimum gun depression of her turrets and the range of their torpedoes' fuse activation. Her secondaries struck Z1 in the shoulder and the black-clad Iron Blood destroyer staggered, but Ukraina was in worse shape...

Potemkin's secondaries turned to give her cover, barking a barrage toward the Destroyers as she went to pick up Ukraina. She looked to her younger compatriot, then asked "Are you well?"

"As good as can be..." The battleship panted. "The first days were a cakewalk compared to this..."

"The sharks are moving to finish their prey, Ukraina..." Potemkin mused, letting the Kansen back onto her feet. "They were merely playing with their food beforehand."

"Not recomforting, ma'am..." The Warship grinned "But if they want us dead... They'll have to do worse than this."

Graf Zeppelin watched from afar as the close quarters battle raged on, her face as impassive as when she first talked to the girls. Her squadrons of fighters were useless here. The Northern Parliament has never had any carriers. She let the struggle continue, watching as Hipper limped back, with Z1 and Z20 holding her up, before saying "Are you done?" in the most careless voice ever.

"I am..." Hipper grinned. "Let them have it."

"Very well... It is time." The woman said. She looked at her rigging, watching the new squadrons of planes materialize around her. And as each wing launched, three more appeared to take its place, until the sky itself was darkened. Hundreds of Junkers aircraft flew higher and higher, before the gull-winged craft turned upside down, entering their dive. The swarm of aircraft did not halt, did not care, did not wince, nor cry... It only let loose its payload... An approximate 300 bombs fell from the undercarriage holds of the aircraft. 1000 pound bombs, all... A rain of hellfire...

The detonations set alight the sea, grand pillars of water shooting up with each detonation. The cries of the damned kansen that were her former allies underneath the rain of steel were like music to Graf's ears. It was not enough to spur a smile out of the Nihilist, but it was however enough for her to feel her purpose in this world returning. The drum of the explosions, like that of a thousand artillery batteries firing in cadence, soon died down, ceasing only when the last Junkers had dropped its payload. Hipper was grinning... But Graf was not...

Through the smoke and fire, she saw silhouettes... And Hipper gasped, as did their Destroyer escort... Graf's eyes narrowed, watching as the Kansen, battered and bruised, emerged from the smoke... Potemkin, the mother of the Russian Baltic Fleet and the Northern Parliament's own Home Fleet, with gritted teeth, a dislocated arm and damaged guns, stared at the Iron Blood Carrier with killer intent... Following her, 7 damaged destroyers out of the 15 or 16 they originally had, a very wounded Ukraina and a battle-damaged Avrora, all advanced toward them...

"W-What the hell...?" Hipper murmured, emerald eyes wide.

"Ghosts!" Z1 screamed and hid behind Graf, gripping onto her coattails.

"... I bombed all of you..." Graf murmured placidly, with an undertone of fear.

Potemkin grinned a vile grin, looking almost possessed as she spoke with a gruff voice "Don't you know, Graf Zeppelin!? _**WE DO NOT DIE THAT EASILY!**" _and raised her hand. She yelled through strained laughter, like a devil, "ONLY WHEN OUR GOD ALMIGHTY WILLS OUR DEATH TO HAPPEN, NOT YOU, WILL WE DIE! **_Sestry Baltiyskogo flota, ZARYADITIE!_**" before lowering her hand... The Destroyers, Battleships and Cruiser surged forth with renewed vigor and hatred in their eyes...

Graf gritted her teeth, then said "Reform the line! SINK THESE WORTHLESS DOGS!"

Words to which Hipper, Z24 and Z20 took their formation. The Iron Blood Ju-87s returned too, opening up with their Autocannons on the girls' backs while the Destroyers and Hipper emptied their turret magazines on them. The Destroyers dropped like flies, but very annoying ones. Their guns barked even as they sunk under the waves... Ukraina got close, her gun batteries aimed toward Graf, but Hipper's torpedoes cut her desire to remove the head of the snake short, sending her to the bottom of the sea.

But thanks to her distraction, Potemkin got close enough to deliver a gut punch to Graf, before firing her guns into the woman. Potemkin, the Mother of the Baltic Sea, cried "THIS IS FOR MY GIRLS AND FOR ALL THOSE YOU HAVE SUNK, YOU TREASONOUS IRON BLOOD DOG!" with a voice full of anger and tears in her eyes... Hipper's gun turrets made short work of her after two more bombs landed onto her back, sending her to the Baltic's bottom...

And surrounded, Avrora glared at the enemy warships... Before falling to her knees, tears falling from her eyes... Z24 moved up, putting her gun to the Light Cruiser's forehead and grinning. Her eyes, however, went wide, when she overheard the droning of engines, finding herself in need to dodge three bombs and a Machine Gun raking her position...

Z1 reported "Azur Lane reinforcement fleet... I'm detecting the Enterprise and her air wing!"

And indeed, as Graf looked up, she saw the sight of two SBD Dauntlesses and a Hellcat belonging to Enterprise's squadrons, as well as Seafang Interceptors. Sighing, she pulled Z24's hand and said "We retreat... Our masters must've gotten what they desired out of this." before turning to leave, slightly limping. Two shells passed by her ears and she turned to see Avrora with one turret's barrels smoking... She simply ignored Avrora and moved out away...

And appearing from the left, in Avrora's vision, indeed... A wide-eyed Enterprise. She stopped in front of Avrora, before taking a knee as her escort fleet formed a perimeter. "Are you okay, Avrora?" The Carrier asked, looking her in the eyes. "Where's Ukraina and the others...? Where's Potemkin...?" She then inquired... Avrora took a moment, pointing back at the fire ablaze in the gulf, before breaking down and grabbing onto Enterprise to bury her face into the woman's shoulder, with Enty staring at the bubbling water, lips narrowed. Avrora's wailing was the only thing audible now... Not the sound of guns... Not the sound of bombs...

Just the crying, broken, damaged remnant of the Northern Parliament's once-mighty surface-going battle fleet...

* * *

_**Translation.**_

**_Russian-English  
_**

**_Sestry Baltiyskogo flota, ZARYADITIE!-Sisters of the Baltic Fleet! CHARGE!_**


	11. HMS Terminator Maid

Chief sighed...

He'd heard of and known about Belfast's attempts to work on raising the base's morale after the 1st Carrier Division's damaging attack, but the hit on the Baltic Fleet really took everyone by surprise. And the commander of the Azur Lane base there sent Chief letter upon letter of apologies and a single request:take care of Avrora and nurse her to health... Setting the pen and papers down onto his desk, he leaned back into his seat, gazing to both Wales and Belfast.

The former seemed tired. She'd been out sailing with the girls for 10 days. 5 on the way over to the Baltic, which was surprisingly quick even with the stops(Which they've had plenty of) on the way over. He wasn't sure how fast they must've steamed out to the Baltic sea, or how sleepless they were, but he could do little for that now. They were late and that cost them one of the few fleets in the area...

Belfast meanwhile seemed sad, simply looking over at him with a frown. He wasn't sure how Enterprise had taken this, considering how everything had gone so poorly. Hearing the door prop open, the two Kansen with him turned to the door, while he eyed it from underneath his cap's peak. Enterprise peeked inside, wearing a mask that showed no emotions... Save for her eyes. Chief wasn't sure, but going by how red they were, he was pretty sure she'd cried...

"Enterprise..." He nodded, taking his cap off. "Come in... What's the status with Avrora?"

She bit her lower lip as she entered "Vestal's taking care of her, but..." She too let out a sigh as she closed the door, shaking her head "I don't know where she pulled out that bottle of Vodka from, but I'd be even more surprised if I didn't see three more empty ones by the time I returned..."

... Coping mechanism for a ship stationed in the cold north was a drink... Figured...

Chief couldn't judge. They were still human after all, he figured. He tapped his index on the wood of his desk, before asking "How are you and your girls feeling after the trip, Wales? Enterprise?"

"We're still operational, sir..." Wales nodded. She shifted to Enterprise, who seemed to stare impassively... Chief hummed, before showing the warship to come closer. And that she did. He stood up from his chair and looked her in the eye. Her expression seemed to soften if even for a moment as she narrowed her lips. Sighing, the Chief looked upon all three ships, then nodded.

"Get some rest... I'll put together a plan of action." He spoke. "Enterprise."

"Sir?" She asked.

"That means you too. I'd rather not lose our flagship." He added gently, but with a more stern gaze as he looked at her "Let Vestal look to your gear too... I know she lied to me. And just this once, I'll let it pass. But next time? If you two risk this kind of gambit without working gear, I'm gonna be honest with you... You won't be moving out of the port until I give the order to do so."

"... Sir, yessir." She nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"You aren't missing the training session today... Dismissed." He spoke, before walking back to his chair. As the girls moved to the exit, he spoke "Belfast. One second. I need to ask you something." to which the maid ship stopped. She walked over to the desk as Enterprise and Wales left the room and waited until the door clicked shut, to ask "You've noticed Enterprise's behavior, correct?"

"... Do you mean her near-suicidal tendencies of going into battle at low strength, sir?" Belfast inquired with a bluntness Chief had so dearly needed in his life...

"Yes." He nodded promptly. "I need you to do something about that, Belfast..."

"Like, sir?" The warship had her devious grin returned to her... Chief was probably going to regret this...

He looked to her, then said "For now... With permission from Queen Elizabeth herself, I wish to assign you as her own personal maid... Even if you have to force her, you will set up a proper schedule for her, including sleeping, wake-up and meals. It will only be overwritten when she's at full strength and out on ops, or training with me, which should usually be during the afternoon... We understood?"

"Crystal clear, sir." She bowed, radiating her usual scary brilliance, grin included "It will be my honor to serve Lady Enterprise to the best of my abilities."

... Oh, God, Chief _was _gonna regret this. "Very good..." He simply nodded. "Dismissed. I'll need a few minutes to prepare papers and such to send to the Admiralty..."

... He missed the action. He wanted his armor back. And he needed to secure that god-damned fuel for himself, Infinity and the Strident girls. Arranging his tie and uniform, he watched as Belfast left, before turning back to his paperwork... That woman was something else entirely... Outside of Chief's office, down the halls, Enterprise found herself walking toward the Repair bay once more, before noticing her sister returning from there with Cleveland. The girl bowed her head, covering her eyes as she walked past her black-wearing sister, who simply ignored her when they passed, chatting about something...

Cleveland looked over to Enterprise, before turning back to Hornet and asking "Huh... Enterprise seems off... You two alright, Hornet?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" The Carrier responded with a smile that said less of an 'alright' and more of a 'shut up before I tear your throat out'... Cleveland took the hint, ducking under her steely gaze, while sighing. The self-proclaimed Knight of the Seas had to admit that Hornet and Enterprise had never once met to talk about anything. She didn't know what happened, but still... This was too much...

... Wales had to take into account multiple things, including one of the new requests the Chief had put up... More specifically, for a Marine presence on base, as well as two new Navy Officers to assist him. He'd asked for files on Drill Instructors as aid beforehand and right now, they were in transfer. Female DIs were already underway to help whip the entire group into shame. And the two Navy officers, one Royal, the other Eagle, would serve as liaisons to the Admiralty.

As she strolled down to the beach, she watched the waves crash against the sand. The sky was clear, blue like the sea itself. It was soothing to watch. The sadness Enterprise felt over the sinking of so many of their sisters from the East did hit her too. She dreaded to think what that would mean for all of them, or how this would further thin out the supplies for them.

She eyed a bald eagle flying overhead, watching it go toward the open window of Chief's office... She pursed her lips, then smiled...

Back inside Chief's office, the Spartan heard a flap and turned with his chair toward the window, noticing it open and nothing but a brown feather on the windowsill. He picked it up, examining it thoroughly, before setting it down onto the table and turning about again. His chair felt somewhat heavier as he swiveled about in it, back to his desk. He leaned back over onto the paperwork...

He heard something scratch against the leather of his chair, then turned his gaze to the back against which he leaned... Small marks on the leather, but nothing bad. He shook his head... Must've been hearing things. Not like he caught any sleep himself after the events with... Well... Cortana... Aboard the Mantle's approach. Sighing, the Spartan simply leaned into his chair and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments, his memory of the event rewinding to her... And her touch...

His thoughts, however, were cut short as he finally noticed a shadow hanging over him, shading his paperwork... He looked straight up, only to be met by a pair of beady, black eyes, a sharp golden beak and a mane of white and brown feathers. The Spartan stared eye-to-eye with the animal above him, a bald eagle, with a hint of curiosity. Why had it elected this exact moment to come into his office...? And why was it staring at him?

It tilted its head, just as curious as the Chief, before jumping and flapping its wings once, landing on his left forearm. Its head jerked and tilted as it examined him thoroughly. John himself raised a brow at the creature, before bringing his right hand forward, toward it, slowly. It cocked its head toward it, unsure if to perceive it as a threat or something else... But it moved slow enough that the creature took the non-aggressive approach and just let it get close... Chief scratched it under its beak and, going by the fact it leaned into the Spartan's touch with closed eyes, it seemed to like it...

Chief hummed thoughtfully, before starting "I've never seen a bald eagle this docile before..." in a murmur, continuing to pet the new avian friend. "Who's your owner, pal?"

And as if by divine intervention, the door slammed open and a panting Enterprise burst in. Both the Spartan and eagle cocked head to meet the new arrival, only to see Enterprise, red in the face. She seemed to pause upon seeing both the Eagle and Chief staring at her, before her heart started to slow... "Oh... I was just coming to get him..." before straightening up. "He just... Flew off."

"He's yours?" The Chief asked, standing up with the Eagle perfectly holding onto his hand...

"Yeah... Sort of..." She said with a melancholic tone, letting the eagle switch out hands reluctantly. "Strange... He didn't peck you or anything?"

"No. Should he have?" He asked wittily.

"Uhm... No, but he usually is not that friendly to new people..." She responded, looking at the eagle now on her shoulder. "Did you bother the commander, pal?"

It seemed confused... So was Chief.

"Actually... He didn't." Chief mused. "He was quite well behaved, actually... Just went to sit on my arm."

"Huh." Enterprise raised a brow too, a half-smile forming on her face "Means he thinks you're trustworthy... At least as far as my sister told me." And she waited to see his reaction. The Spartan simply hummed, then nodded. She looked to Chief, curious as to why he didn't add anything to the conversation, before she gasped, watching him lean over to pet the bird on the head... And he seemed to enjoy it.

"Does he have a name?" Their Commander asked, looking at the bird.

"R-Reaper... Grim Reaper." She spoke, surprise minted across her face like the faces of a penny... And her cheeks beet red as she watched the supersoldier and predatory bird bonding. They were like two old friends that'd just found each-other again. Enterprise scanned Chief's uniform, to see the Eagle badge on his own chest, before reminding herself he was from the UNSC... Aldo a human faction and a very powerful one at that.

"Heh. Seems fitting." He continued petting the bird.

"Uh... Chief? Inquiry." She paused.

"Go ahead." He nodded, finally stopping.

"We still go for training?" She turned to face him, as did he. Arranging the sleeve on which the bird rested once, he gave her a nod of confirmation. He turned back to his desk, picking up his pen, writing out more paperwork, before sighing. She hummed, then asked "Are you gonna need help with that stuff?" watching the Spartan look to her, almost pleading through his eyes, but maintaining his stern, no-bull face. She snorted, then added "I'll see about helping with some of it later, if Wales doesn't take part of it..." And she stepped out of the room after bidding goodbye. She needed to get herself busy if he was gonna keep her stuck ashore on the basis of high repair priority...

... Huh, Chief _was _starting to regret sending Belfast as watchdog over Enterprise...

Of course, she knew he did. Part of her did this because she wanted to be rid of anyone watching over her shoulder like she was some kind of child. The other part of her actually wanted to help the Chief. The man was a veteran of war, very much like her. If he needed friends, she'd probably be best suited for the role, but she didn't know about that either... Not yet, at least...

She looked to Reaper, before noting "Where'd you even fly in from?"

He pointed his beak toward the central island and Enterprise chuckled "Right, I forgot that's your favorite spot on the base." as she turned the corner, only to bump face-first into Infinity... A _smiling _Infinity. And Enterprise racked her brain for a moment as she tried to figure out what this girl was smiling about. And soon, the horror of realization crept onto her face as she asked "How much did you hear?"

Infinity's smirk turned into a grin... "Sweetheart, I can hear a pin drop in the vacuum of space with the sensor suite I have... I heard enough." and she winked "Lookin' to get down and dirty with the Chief, eh?" nudging Enty's elbow playfully... Oh, gods above, this woman was gonna be the death of someone by cause of Heart attack. Did they charge people for murder if they caused people heart attacks...?

"No." Enterprise responded bluntly. "The Co-err... The Chief offered to train me in case I go against battleships again."

"Riiight~." Infinity mocked. "I'll leave y'all to that." And she stepped beside Enterprise, before stopping midway through and turning to Enterprise. "By the way, his favorite sweets are those little rum chocolates you can get out of any convenience store or requisition. Just in case you wanna do something nice for him... As thanks, for 'training'." She winked again, before stepping off... How the hell would anyone _not _hear anyone with that heavy a set of gear...?

The next weirdest thing Enterprise saw was a squad of the smaller ships of the base's engineering corps walking beside her. Leading them was one of their tallest... Known as _Bulins,_ the girls ran most of the matters of refueling and rearming of the Shipgirls' rigging, as well as providing major, permanent combat boosts to the kansen. The blonde, tall ones were called Prototypes, for what, Enterprise didn't know, while the smaller, white-haired ones were called Universal...

"Hello, Lady Enterprise, purii!" The blonde one waved.

"Uh... Hi?" The girl hummed, while the eagle stared at them like they were food. "Where are you going?"

"To talk with the new commander, purii. We heard late that he arrived, purii." The Prototype spoke calmly. "We need to introduce ourselves, purii."

"Alright... He's busy with paperwork, though, so..." She started. "Just be quick about it." And with that, she waved goodbye to them. She really wondered what the Chief was gonna say about them, but right now... Christ, this was probably gonna look bad, but then again, he was yet to meet the Submarine fleet, so... For better or for worse, Chief hadn't seen the worst parts of Azur Lane's battlefleet.

Going into her room, the woman let the bird sit on her desk while she removed those clothes which she didn't need, tossing them onto her chair and letting herself drop onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling while Reaper simply stared around the spartan, near-empty room. Sighing deeply, Enterprise listened to a clock tick away the time, while she simply stood there...

_... Meanwhile... _A more active role was undertaken in the base by a woman in a black maid's uniform and platinum-blonde hair. Her amber eyes, only one of which was visible though, thanks to her haircut, stared forward as she stepped toward the office of the new commander. She'd heard much from Belfast of the man now commanding the Azur Lane Pacific Fleet and she'd been there for the briefing... However, the young maid had not been able to meet the man she was to serve under for her own reasons.

And Belfast watched the maid walking as she sang in whisper "_Gunpowder, gelatine. Dynamite with a laser beam... Guaranteed to blow your mind..." _simply observing her with her standard grin. The Bulins had just left when the kansen with platinum hair made her way inside the Chief's office, taking a moment to take in her surroundings, before clearing her throat...

Chief gazed up for around the fifth time from his paperwork and was starting to get irri-... Oh, another maid...?

"Greetings." She bowed respectfully, holding her hoop skirt down. "I am HMS Sheffield, of the Town-class Light Cruiser sisterhood of maids." She introduced herself. "I've come to meet the new commander of our fleet. Please, forgive my tardiness, sir, but I've been engaged with... 'business'... Outside of the base after the briefing you've so thoughtfully provided to us."

... Why did Chief feel this woman emanating an air of... _ONI?_

"Welcome." He nodded, standing up and saluting and trying to avoid any uncalled-for words regarding maid sisters. "Most of your people call me Chief, Sheffield, so I don't see why you shouldn't do as such." to which she nodded. "Come to think of it... I should tell Belfast to do much the same..."

"I take it my sister and you have met?" Sheffield asked.

"Yeah... One of my first acquaintances here, actually." His response was calm, even as his mind started to once again unwrap the idea of him being forced into command... He'd really need to have that talk with Wales about personal space and other such matters regarding office decoration. For now though, he sat himself back down, then motioned to Sheffie to find her own seat on the couch.

The Town-class Kansen looked to the Chief again and spoke "Is there anything you require of me, sir?"

"For now, just to understand what you do here, if that's okay." He offered. A nod from Sheffield began the explanation regarding to her position and the work she did on-site. 'Clean up' of unwanted assets, intrigue, espionage and co-opting of other Kansen. Huh, so Chief's gut nailed that feeling dead on. She was basically his own Office of Naval Intelligence... And that gave him a whole new dimension of assets to work with...

Perfect...


	12. Battleship Babes Brawl

Enterprise woke with a groan as the light of day streamed through the window, washing over her half-naked form. She swore, if she forgot to close the freakin' curtains-oh... Upon waking up, her eyes hinged onto the rather developed chest of the Maid she knew so well from previous meetings. Belfast stood above her, trademark smile still present on her face as the Azur Lane Flagship awoke... Christ, she had a feeling she needed to start locking her door.

"Good morning, Lady Enterprise." She spoke jovially.

... The woman had a few seconds to process what was going on, before she spoke in a low groan "Chief put you up to this... Didn't he...?" as she straightened up and rubbed her eyes. This planned event must've occurred last evening, before Reaper decided to show up and knock-or peck-on the man's window. So that was a nice little detail to look forward to discussing with him...

"Yes." The maid answered with peppiness, a smile on her face still. "I will henceforth serve as your maid and supervisor, miss Enterprise. The Commander wants all of us at full strength and ready for deployment at any given time of the day, so I've been tasked in making sure that you maintain a balanced lifestyle for exactly that reason." She then laid out the full situation. And she finished off with "Currently, that involves getting you a proper breakfast."

... For the third time today and the nth time in her life, Enterprise let out a disgruntled sound of disapproval, yet nodded... Orders were orders, be they her own or someone else's... And if someone else's orders involved anything related to her, she couldn't oppose... God dammit all... Sighing in defeat, the Kansen shifted her gaze to Belfast, then asked calmly "Can I at least get dressed alone?"

"Most certainly." The Maid nodded, excusing herself and going outside. Indeed, Enterprise'd been given a bit too much freedom regarding her own health. What the Kansen didn't realize(Or chose to ignore? Belfast didn't know...) was that she was still a human being in form and function. She could easily just drop dead from malnutrition or lack of sleep and then they'd lose one of their best... And Belfast would, admittedly, lose a friend.

Enterprise and Belfast had cooperated a few times before and their interactions were... Odd at best, but they were friendly. And Belfast came to be very attached to Enterprise, for better or worse. And after what happened with Yorktown and Wasp and... She shook her head, squelching the memory before she, too, broke down. Her gaze shifted toward the end of the corridor, watching as Hornet passed by. The Carrier Kansen jumped at the sight of Belfast at the door. She waved a gloved hand toward Belfast, who waved back, but maintaining an impassive face.

Hornet pressed her lips together, then stepped away, vanishing behind a wall just as Enterprise exited her room, closing her door behind her. The Carrier kansen looked over toward Chief's room, to see it was locked... And it'd been locked since last night. Even half-asleep, she would've heard him come in. Brow raised, she looked to Belfast and asked "Did the Chief not get sleep?"

"As far as I understood from Prince of Wales, the Master Chief was busy with paperwork last evening." Belfast explained.

... Double standards, much?

Enterprise's shoulders sagged. "Very well... Let's go." as she took the lead. She wasn't inclined on going to lunch as that involved meeting her younger sister, but alas, that was the... Well, biggest of her worries now. She saw Infinity and Vestal walking together. Belfast waved to the two girls, watching them approach and Infinity was first to speak between the four "Yo, girls! Good to see ya on your feet, Enty."

"Thanks, Infinity." Nodded the woman, arranging the black jacket she wore on her back.

"Y'all headed for breakfast?" The damaged UNSC ship asked, receiving two nods as answers. She smirked "Well, we're joining if that's okay with you."

"I'm surprised, Enty." Vestal stated, taking the woman's attention to her. "You usually have your MRE packs." to which Enterprise shrugged, tilting her head slightly to the maid in the room. Belfast maintained the smug elegant aura she'd been born with with grace and dignity. And even more Smug. The small-talk between three of the four Kansen continued, with Enterprise opting to stay out of the chatter for the time being.

As they entered the mess hall, they found it populated by the mass of warships... With seemingly six or seven of'em chatting it up with the Destroyer Squadrons of Azur Lane. The Strident sisters who could walk seemed eager to chat, pertaining the acts of the ships named like them from the Human-Covenant War. Tokyo was the first to wave to Infinity and the others, a smile on her face.

Infinity waved back, then said "I should probably find somewhere secluded to seat... Don't wanna hit anyone with" and she knocked on the metal of one of her MAC barrels, her rigging still active "these."

"We'll see you at that table." Enterprise noted. The woman had to find time to talk herself out of this, so she could go train or... Patrol or...

A rumbling stomach cut those plans short, drawing a blush on Enterprise's face as Belfast shoved a plate full of food(and by that she meant a _towering _mound of ham, bacon, sunny-side up eggs and toast)... She tugged at her tie, walking to the table with her Maid escort, under the gaze of a grinning Infinity and her 6 standing Frigates. Today was going to be a long day...

* * *

The thunder of 15 inch guns echoed across the Pacific's northern sector. Bismarck had tallied and targeted a specific point in the area for ranging her guns. She wanted to be away from everyone for now. And away from the Sakura Port and Akagi, Kaga and everyone else. The first salvo of eight shells seemed well-aimed, but the scatter on them was annoying... An iceberg was struck by five of the eight heavy rounds, splitting in half due to the detonations.

She pushed aside a lock of her hair, away from her eye, before letting a deep sigh loose. Her steamy breath escaped her mouth, clouding up in front of her, before vanishing. Snow fell around her as she sat in the middle of an icy field, staring at the stirring water. She listened to the wind, feeling its cold on her face as she watched it blow the snow away.

As she scanned the horizon, she waited calmly for her next target to appear...

Her eyes locked on the center of the horizon, according to her own point of view, straight ahead of her. A faint black seemed to draw her eyes to it. A speck on the faraway blue sky began to glow and grow... And as she blinked, it surrounded her. The dark sky, painted with streaks of burning scarlet and faint white stars was set alight by a wave of shells that arched toward her.

She gritted her teeth, pushing off her right foot to the left, dodging a multitude of impacts as they came raining down like hail. She scanned the horizon again, to find her assailants, but to no avail. She was really getting sick of Tester's games... So instead of targeting by vision or ranging her guns via her own systems, she raised her guns as high as she could, letting loose a volley of eight shells high and arching over the horizon... The cracking thunder of metal meeting metal parsed the entire Mirror Sea event...

Going by the sounds, she must've hit a Tester clone...

Laser rounds came in response... She wasn't sure these were lasers, with the way they bent around, but she was sure that they did sting like nothing else when they struck. Her reflexes, thankfully, saved her as she managed to jump back just before they struck. Steam kicked up where the bending beams of energy struck the water. Bismarck's answer continued the duel...

Two shells, this time. One impact. One in the water...

"Tester!" She bellowed, raising her flag staff. "Cease this tomfoolery! I've had about enough of your little surprise trials!"

A dark giggle reverberated, bouncing on the water and seemingly in the sky, enough so that Bismarck couldn't identify where it came from until the form of the Siren materialized ahead of her... The pale-skinned, alien, gold-eyed, silver-haired monstrosity with her back wings mounting cannons and her legs mounting what looked like a science-fiction propulsion system simply smiled at Bismarck, her eyes devoid of emotion.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Bismarck. You're no fun." She spoke, her voice distorted as with all sirens as she stepped past Bismarck. "Observer says hello from the port, by the way..."

The glaring Iron Blood warship turned to face her 'handler', planting the tip of her staff into the water, sending a small ripple through the otherwise calm Mirror Sea... Bismarck knew Real from Fake and this event was a Siren's way of assuming control... Little runts needed to understand that the world was not theirs to own... Nor was it any traitor Siren's.

"Oh, going to stay quiet?" The Siren cocked her head toward the Pride of the German Navy, chuckling. "Play the bad cop routine?"

"I'm concerned as to what you want this time." She answered in a deadpan. "How many tasks do I still have now?"

"Fewer by three, Bismarck." The Siren faced her quarry, creepy-ass smile withstanding. "So that leaves you at 5 tasks... But it will only get harder from here." And she eyed the sky above her. She quipped absentmindedly "Falls from Grace are never elegant, are they, _Herr Bismarck_?" which irked Bismarck just enough to have her point the tip of her staff at the Siren's metaphysical throat, her grip tight enough around its shaft that her leather gloves crackled. The Tester was unfazed...

"I only agreed on these tasks because of _her_. If _she _wasn't in your grip, I would have killed you, Observer and every last one of your kind with no regret..." The Battleship gritted her teeth, her Prussian accent slipping through and trickling venom. The Tester snorted, pushing aside the sharp toy and staring Bismarck in the eye as she continued her deadpan talk.

"You and your entire camp are weak, Iron Blood battleship Bismarck... You were nothing but a glorified Convoy Raider lost to the might of more powerful Battleships and doomed to rot and vanish at the bottom of the Atlantic when the Azur Lane raised your soul to fight alongside them and against us. You betrayed them afterward, you, your Sakura allies and your entire spineless fleet, leaving those you originally cared for because you wanted more power... And then you came to us when you found she had vanished..." She hammered nail after nail into Bismarck, sending the girl staggering back and turning pale, sweat beading... Yet Tester continued "What would the Lonely Queen say if she saw you like this, I wonder... Allied with your foes and fighting your former friends...?"

"S-Shut up..." Bismarck stuttered, avoiding eye contact...

Tester grabbed her chin with one hand, digging whatever played for nails into her cheeks and her voice turned from that sweet venomous one to that of a monster, distorted and broken as they locked eyes... "Look at me when I speak, runt... You are _mine _and the Sirens' until you complete your tasks... Or become useless to us. Our Creator has made us to advance beyond Mankind's promises... To snuff their flame out while making sure ours burns brighter... The Reclamation may be at hand, but we are _not _powerless to stop it... And you, traitorous ilk to Mankind, will help us bring about its downfall if you want to see your precious Lonely Queen."

"_**aM i uNdErStOoD?!**_" Her voice blared, distorted further, into Bismarck's ear.

"Y-Yes..." The Battleship whimpered... Gott above...

"Good..." Her soothing voice returned, as did her smile. "We shall see each-other again after your next task is complete, Bismarck... Get us more information on Ash, before she hits her next stage of evolution... Or take her out in combat and spare us the problem, while we raise the Fleet of the Damned to our cause... And remember... _We **will **be watching..."_

And as Bismarck collapsed, falling onto all fours and staring at the water, the Mirror Sea retreated and the cold chill of the Northern Pacific returned. Her lower lip trembled as she simply stared at her reflection... What had just happened, she wondered. No... What had happened to drag her, the Iron Blood and Sakura into this mess? It felt so long ago... She stood to her feet, her legs heavy, before starting back toward the Port...

... She needed a lie-down...

* * *

**_Back at the AL base. Later that day._**

Enterprise had found herself once again walking the corridors alone. This time, she was on a Bee-line toward the gym. She watched as Hammann and Sims ran past her and raised a brow, before hearing Arizona and Pennsylvania running past her. Penn called out "Ari, wait up! We ain't gonna miss the fight just yet!" just as they ran past Enterprise... And the Kansen raised a brow as the two battleships vanished around the corner Sims and Ham did... Right near the Gym... Oh boy.

She quickened her step, only to enter the Gym and see... Chief standing with arms crossed among the crowd of Kansen from the Eagle Union. She stepped up among the crowd, tapping their acting commander on the shoulder. He turned, nodded curtly to her, then looked ahead. Enterprise raised a brow, before turning toward the ring... She saw the two tanned Battleships of some veteran rank among the Eagle Union navy standing face to face.

Nevada cracked her neck, bouncing from one foot to the other as she spoke "I'll make ya eat your words, Tenn."

Cracking her knuckles, Tennessee grinned "They'll be scrapin' ya off the ring when I'm done with you, Nevves."

Enterprise craned her neck over toward the Chief, then asked "What the hell happened?" to which he stared back at her. He sighed, then spoke "Tennessee and Nevada got into a spat about service during the First World War... Some words were exchanged and instead of just letting it boil over, I decided they should take it out in the ring..." And, turning his head toward the left, he eyed the two battleships.

"AND YOU THINK THAT'S SANE!?" Enterprise protested.

"Yes. I'd rather not let tensions within the base reach a boiling point. Especially after some of the latest events." He hummed, eyeing Hornet and then looking back to Enterprise. "Avrora wants to be assigned near the Morgue, by the way... Says she wants to care over her friends for one last time... I'm considering letting her stay there for the time being with the condition you two show me it..." and Enterprise's face parsed through several emotions... But she froze and turned toward the fight as the bell rang...

Both girls took off toward each-other, one arm cocked back, hand balled into a fist. Nevada was quicker, however. And as she threw the punch, it made contact with Tenn's cheek... But the newer battleship didn't let herself get taken down that easily. Her returning punch sent Nevada staggering, but both managed to double over and attack again. Nevada dodged under one of Tenn's punches, before jumping up. Her forehead made contact with Tenn's chin, clacking the woman's teeth together.

But Tenn was able to recover again, this time answering with a dodge, feint to the left and a gut punch that nearly had Nevves lose her breakfast However, the veteran Battleship soon turned the tables, moving out of the way of a second punch and delivering a nasty haymaker right into the side of Tenn's head that sent the kansen spinning to the floor...

Wiping a bit of sweat off her forehead, Tenn was quick to her feet, spinning and throwing a haymaker of her own in response, that Nevada barely had time to block. She pushed her hands away, before headbutting the Battleship right in the nose and forcing her off-balance as she went back into the ring's cords. Nevada opened her eyes just in time to see another attempted attack from Tenn... She ducked, grabbed her by the waist and slammed her in a piledrive, sending her back.

Tenn grabbed and tried to throw Nevada away, but only found her hand grabbed and twisted, before Nevada pushed her away into the cords and managed an uppercut into Tenn's jaw... Chief had to admit, this was better than most Catfights you'd see on TV, but alas, it was uh... Getting pretty brutal. And not looking like it was gonna end any time soon...

Indeed, 'twas a slugging match that made them worthy of the name 'Battleships'. Most of the Destroyers fell asleep before Tenn and Nevves were running low on breath... Right now, simply pushing each-other, forehead against forehead, Nevada and Tennessee stared each-other in the eye, bruised and battered, but grinning and breathing ragged... Nevada was first to speak, a more friendly tone than at the start of the fight "Ya givin' in yet... Tenn?"

"Ya kidding? I... I could go on for ages..." The other one grinned, answering with the same tone... But both stopped and turned as the Chief got into the ring, promptly saluting. He held his arms crossed still, but looked approvingly at both of them. He nodded, pursing his lips together, before speaking aloud to both of them "It out of your systems?" and receiving calm nods in answer...

"Good..." he hummed. "Shake hands and that'll be all. Dismissed."

Tenn and Nevves turned to each-other, then nodded, gripping and shaking each-other's right hands firmly. Nevada spoke "Good fight ,Tenn. You've got a nasty left hook." with a smile, feeling her jaw.

"Ain't got a bad haymaker yourself, Nevves." Tennessee smirked in answer, showing a 'missing' tooth. "How about next time we spar, we actually do it with gloves... I think Vestal's gonna chew us out for this one." and they both laughed a hearty, relieved laugh. Chief nodded approvingly as he walked toward Enterprise. She nodded, then followed him out... And they walked toward where Avrora was staying...


	13. Gathering Clouds

Chief had to take a moment to register the need for a Morgue while he and Enterprise walked through the base, toward where it supposedly was. Taking a set of stairs within the main building, the pair descended at least two flights of stairs, only to enter the underground. Enterprise flicked a switch and lights let out a deep buzz as they powered. The basement of Azur Lane's home base was odd to gaze upon, with items ranging from tools to the boilers that maintained heat in the base attached to the walls.

"This way." Enterprise motioned as they took a step past a concrete support pillar and turned. The woman then pushed a metal door open, to reveal a rather large room filled with wooden shelves, all lined with flowers and the likes, as well as name plates. Above these name plates were dark-blue, crystalline cubes with varying defects, from cracks to outright missing chunks.

Chief barely registered Avrora, who was sat down on a stool, her woolen hat on a table next to her, as she looked over the cubes. Next to the stool, there was also a three-quarters empty Vodka bottle. She seemed content to look over one of the broken ones, caressing it slowly as she hummed an old Russian song. In fact, she seemed to just be cleaning it, before setting it back onto the shelf, above the name. _Opytny._

Enterprise sighed, taking another two steps to reach Avrora's side and placing a hand on her shoulder. The Russian Kansen raised her head, then gave a weak smile to Enty, black bags under her eyes. The Spartan approached one of the racks, to look over the many cubes as the realization slowly dawned. Avrora's deep-accented voice completed the unspoken thought in Chief's mind "This is where all of Azur Lane's casualties lay... With hope many can be rebuilt."

The Spartan swept the room with his gaze, seeing dozens more shelves around. Enterprise approached her Commander, then added with sadness "This isn't a war without casualties. We've lost a lot of our friends, a lot of those we knew. And many ships we didn't get to know."

Avrora uncapped her bottle, took a swig, then said "I take it you didn't tell him that we also have many experimental ships here."

... Chief paused, doubling over... "Wait..."

"We attempted to summon many other ships, Master Chief, to match the enemy's firepower... It did not go well." The Northern Parliament woman stood up, approaching them with a steady step, despite the alcohol in her system. "Follow me, please..." And she stepped ahead of them. The Spartan scanned the first names he could see off the many shelves. '_Admiral Kuznetsov', 'Pyotr Velikyi', 'USS Oriskany', 'USS Midway'..._

Modern and World War 2, side by side. It was incredible... "Why are modern ships here...?"

"Our attempted summons of modern vessels has always either ended in horrible failure, or, due to whatever constraints, they could never properly fight." Enterprise mused. "_Kuznetsov, _as a good example, had a fire start just as she was being summoned. Her systems refused to respond to any of her commands, to put out the fire and her cube destabilized and... Well..."

The cube had spiderweb-shaped cracks all across its surface...

"She died... There must be _thousands _of cubes here." Chief observed, partly mortified at the implications of _dying at your own birth. _They continued further down the lanes, watching as more distinct names appeared. He stopped again, this time to look at one of the most modern of the ships there... "USS _Zumwalt. _DDG-1000... What is she doing here? As far as I read, she did work and was considered a good platform... Save for the public opinion of it."

"Disappointingly enough, as it has been proven, Mental Cubes and the souls they link to are manifestations of humanity's consciousness and own souls..." Avrora spoke calmly, taking the cube in her hand and looking at its broken form. She looked to Chief, handing it to him, then added "Attempting to summon young Zumwalt was successful, but due to the public thinking she was a failure and a waste of money, she fell in battle. All weapons but her cruise missile tubes failed to work on her first deployment and a Siren squadron overwhelmed her position. She died on her feet, taking as many as she could with her..."

"Oh..."

This was just getting more colorful by the ship, wasn't it? "... What's next?"

Enterprise looked to the rearmost shelf, then stepped toward it. She spoke "Mankind is known for its ingenuity and desire to solve problems. So the scientists of the world, whom are big Science-Fiction fans, have figured... Why not attempt to summon the heroic ships of Science Fiction to assist us in the war." humming as she remembered and added "You wouldn't believe how many Enterprises one single science-fiction world had... And all were attempted summons..."

... Chief scanned the shelf that was against the wall. NX-01, NCC-1701s of ranging variations and other ships from, what he assumed, other various famous fictional universes. He stopped in front of one cube, then read its name "_Galactica? _She sounds... Familiar?" and he turned to the women. "How many more attempts of summoning... _Other... _Ships were there?"

"Many." Avrora responded.

"All of them sadly ended in failure. And in most of them, the cubes broke into infinitesimally smaller pieces than we could recover, only to be swept away by the wind." Enterprise softly explained. "Some cubes blew up in our faces. Some blew up after the girls managed to only slightly form. The cubes you see here were the few we managed to recover."

"... I understand." The Spartan sighed. "... What does that say about Infinity and her girls, then?"

Avrora snorted. "I don't think anyone knows what to think, comrade Commander. For now, we're glad you're all here to help..." And she started walking toward her desk. "I hope this visit was informative... If you'll excuse me, I do have to go care for my girls."

"She's still mourning..." Enterprise sighed, looking at her old friend wobble away. She noticed Chief looking at her, then raised a brow "Something the matter?" as she started walking. The Spartan followed, both leaving the place behind and reemerging above ground. The pair looked around at the destroyers still playing and enjoying time together, even. Cassin and Downes were actually training, surprisingly.

He knew war was hell, as his own experiences showed. He wondered how many of those ships down below _were _sisters to those here, still alive...

... He could relate to young girls that wielded the firepower of Terra's most dangerous warships... What the hell had happened to his life?

"Ah, Chief." The two heard a voice call out to them. Approaching from the right side and smiling her trademark smile, Wales held in her hands a report paper. "Good, I caught you both here. We've just received word from one of our scouting bases in the Philippines, that a Sakura Empire Carrier Group has been spotted, heading south, south-west, toward the coast of Australia. The report is a day old already, but..."

"Any ships in the area that can intercept?" John asked as he was handed the report.

"None in close proximity. I've already received volunteers for this operation, though, more specifically Cygnet, Laffey and Javelin, with an escort provided by Illustrious, young Unicorn and Lady Warspite."

"Good. Tell them to set out and prepare a second fleet in case they require reinforcements. If we can deal with an enemy Carrier at least, we can tilt the odds in our favor." Chief ordered.

"A little payback for the North Sea... The girls will love that." Wales smiled. "I'll get to it, sir. Oh. And one more thing."

The Spartan raised a brow at his aide. She smiled. "Lady Hood has deployed on her own hunt by request of higher authorities in the Royal Navy admiralty. More specifically, she has gone in the search of the KMS Battleship Bismarck, under escort." And she saw the slightest shift in Chief's expression. Enterprise frowned, looking between the Chief and his Secretary.

She stopped, turning only to ask "Didn't they think to let the Chief know of this development beforehand?" gazing right into Wales' eyes.

"They said that Bismarck has started acting... Erratically. She has been attacking trading routes between your homeland and that of the Northern Parliament's Kamchatka bases as of late. Among the ships sunk were many of our own civilian cargo vessels."

"Oh." Enterprise hummed. "I see..."

"What's her escort fleet made up of? Have they, at least, got the air support to take Bismarck out if they meet her? Any intel as to what or who Bismarck is being escorted by?" Chief had to think about this pragmatically. Hood was very likely one of the smartest Royal Navy Kansen present, being she was the Pride of their Fleet. Wales took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to the Chief, who opened it.

"Victorious and Ark Royal?" He murmured. "Hmm... And Amazon, Norfolk and Kent. Is it standard for there to be six Kansen per fleet?"

"Generally, for Azur Lane deployments, yes." Wales stated.

"They may need help." Enterprise mused. "Taking on Bismarck is going to be... _Worrying... _If it's Hood, going against her."

"Why's that?" He looked to the Eagle Union Carrier with both worry and curiosity.

Enterprise frowned, her voice lowering as she spoke "When the schism between Azur Lane and the Crimson Axis occurred, Hood was on deployment with Bismarck in the North Sea, near the entry to the Channel. Bismarck faced Hood, nearly sinking her with a full salvo. The only thing that pulled Hood out of that and managed to help her hobble back to Port was Ark Royal intervening with her Swordfish squadron... Hood has had it out for Bismarck since."

"I and Hood haven't spoken much... Thanks for letting me know." He murmured, then looked to Wales and said "Take your own fleet out, handpick them if you have to. Hood isn't going to go face one of the enemy's capital ships with just five others." And he started walking away "Make sure you have plenty of air power. Bismarck is famous for not being able to handle aircraft, right?"

"Chief, I want to help them too." Enterprise started, stepping up in front of him. "Hood is my friend and she's a Flagship, like me. She's helped me pull through a couple of rough patches, so helping is the least I can do."

"Out of the question. You're still under repair, aren't you?" He spoke, stern gaze locked onto Enterprise, almost as if he was looking down at her. Enterprise, however, seemed to know better, noticing a certain softness in his eyes. Perhaps even worry, rather than contempt for another attempt. She swallowed empty, only to nod in response after. Chief hummed, then said "Thought so. Wales and whoever is going with her can handle it. Repair order still stands, Enterprise."

"Yes, sir..." She sighed, shoulders sagging "If you'll excuse me..." And she walked off.

Wales looked to Chief, speaking softly "You do know that is only going to cause her to break your order, don't you?"

"... To be fair, Wales, I'm counting on it." Chief murmured. "As much as I dislike people disobeying orders, this gives me two cards to play. One for the battle and one for back at base..." and he turned to Wales, to notice confusion settle in. Arranging his cap on top of his head, the Spartan rubbed the back of his neck, beginning his explanation, "You'll have more aircraft to help you in fighting Bismark. And I did give her a warning last time something similar happened, didn't I? That she'd be stuck in port until I decide she's needed out there."

Wales smile grew. "You care about her, don't you?"

Chief shifted uneasily, seemingly deflecting Wales' question, "She's one of our best assets. Losing her to lack of sleep would be embarrassing."

With a lighthearted chuckle, Wales offered "Of course, sir. Am I dismissed? Because I do believe I have a fleet to assemble."

John only gave a nod to Wales, before turning to the main entrance of the building and walking away. HMS Prince of Wales still bore her smile as she, too, walked toward the Port. Entering the main building, the man walked toward the repair area, only to find Infinity and Vestal walking right toward him. The two Kansen saluted the Chief, with Infinity smirking and speaking "Yo, Chief. Y'alright?"

"I'm well. How's the repair coming along?" His response was bog-standard Chief. As was to be expected.

"Good, actually!" Vestal beamed "I've been learning more and more about the technology within Infinity's armor and Rigging and it is, by all accounts, incredible."

"Most of my systems, weapons included, are now operational." Infinity noted proudly. "All thanks to Vesty pulling all-nighters. The Stridents are also going along swell, with Tokyo and Canbee being at 100%... Now, this just kinda leaves the fuel-related issues..."

"Although, thankfully..." Vestal's smile remained.

"Vestal thinks... That she may have the solution." Infinity finished.

"... I needed some good news today. Go on." He responded, practically whispering the first part. Solving the Deuterium issue would be a great boon to allow Chief to instantly deploy at least a Strident. Even one UNSC Kansen seemed pivotal right now, to turn this war. Their enemy was on the move and Chief had no idea what their plans were. All he knew was that they were planning. He needed to plan ahead too.

"I've pulled some strings with the Navy Admiralty and we got these off of Predator UAVs flying recon over the Sakura-owned waters in the South Pacific, near the Philippine Sea." Vestal explained, pulling out a set of high-definition aerial photographs showing massive structures of a very, _very _familiar design, under guard by multiple enemy mass-produced Siren models and even Kansen themselves... Vesty smirked, noticing how she caught Chief's interest, then said "According to intel... What little of it we managed to gather from spies and the scouts that collated the data with the photos... These are Deuterium refineries built in deep ocean areas where there are higher concentrations of salt in the water."

Chief took the photos in his hands and examined them. Going by the coordinates of the UAV GPS system alone, they were very close to, if not directly on top of the Mariana Trench. He hummed, then said "They're deep in enemy waters, then. We can't exactly risk fleets right now to attempt to take them out, or seize them. We're on the back foot as far as any offensive capabilities go."

"We know. Hood and Wales are going hunting for Bismarck and Warspite's gunning for Taihou, who're doing fuck knows what." Infinity responded, arranging her Rigging a bit. She smiled, then said "But that doesn't mean there aren't more of these, Chief. The North Sea? There's more, similar structures there. And if the Royal Navy forces there are to be believed, they're somewhat less defended, probably being new."

"Do the Sirens run on Deuterium?" Chief asked Vestal, who shrugged. He hummed, then continued "I can't imagine them using it for anything else, honestly. Thank you, girls, for telling me. I'll make sure these become priority targets when we gain the initiative."

"Happy to be of assistance, Commander." Vestal gave a nod. "C'mon. I oughta finally go do the last repairs on Enterprise's Rigging."

"See ya, Chief." Infinity waved... And with that, the two vanished. The Spartan continued his trek, up the stairs and into his office. There, he sat himself down at his desk and leaned forward, on his hands. Rubbing his temples, he took a moment to think about the oncoming grind against enemy forces and wished that he could do more than just paperwork and planning to assist mankind.

He squelched that though for the moment, turning to a stack of paperwork, presumably left by Wales not too long ago. Taking his pen into his hand, he started working on them. From requisition forms to personal effects requested by the girls, the Chief had found the time to see how pencil-pushers were working. He disliked the job about as much as any of his fellow Spartans who couldn't fight and were transferred to similar desk jobs. Except this time, he was in charge... Not fun.

As midday turned to evening and then to night, Chief was still on his paperwork. He continued working diligently as the door ahead of him opened. With a soft Irish accent, Belfast spoke "Sir. I've brought you the coffee you requested." as she approached the desk, placing it beside him. He looked up, giving a nod to the woman... It was about high time to start drinking the stuff. He wanted to get why officers enjoyed it so much and what kind of properties it had to keep one awake and alert while doing such a monotonous job.

"Thank you, Belfast." He noted, taking he cup.

She smiled warmly "Sugar and cream?"

Chief only raised a finger, taking a sip. The taste was bitter, harsh. It bit at his tongue and went down, although harder than he'd have wanted to. The Spartan felt a tinge of disgust for a moment, but he managed to restrain his face from involuntarily morphing into a grimace, before sighing and saying "If you don't mind..." to his maid/assistant-in-lieu-of-Wales. The woman poured him a bit of cream and put in two cubes of sugar, placing a teaspoon inside and stirring. She bowed, taking a step back as the Spartan took another sip. He gave an approving nod as the hot beverage went down smoother this time.

"Will that be all, sir?" The maid asked, holding the tray.

"Yes... Thank you again." He noted.

"Of course." She bowed respectfully again, then turned to leave... Only pausing to look at him and ask "Do... You happen to have any idea where lady Enterprise went? I have yet to see her go to bed."

Chief sighed. Of course, she did... "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say miss Enterprise is somewhere in the North Pacific now, with Hood, Wales and the fleet hunting Bismarck."

Belfast sighed, frowning "I see... You should rest too, sir..."

"I'll do so once the paperwork's done." He responded bluntly. "Thank you, Belfast... That is all."

She wanted to protest, taking one step forward, but thought against it, only nodding to him as she stepped out of the room. The Chief's work continued well into the night. Focused, writing and on his fifth cup of the now-lukewarm, almost stale black liquid, he had nearly finished. A light tap, what sounded like metal hitting glass, alerted him. He stood up, going instinctively for the drawer where he had stored his Magnum while on base. He looked up and behind him as he heard another tap, this time sounding like... Rubber...?

And he saw in the window, two armored figures. One wore an EVA armor, with its large visor and another wore a CENTURION suit. The number tags on their chests had Chief almost gasp in surprise. He saw another helmet peek, upside down. This one looked like a spider, with its multitude of optical devices allowing for zoom, rangefinding and the likes. The Master Chief, for the first time in his stay here, sighed in relief. He opened the window, allowing the soldiers to rappel in.

"John?" The one who was upside-down spoke as she entered last. "What in _God's _name are you wearing, Chief?"

The Centurion Spartan's gaze shifted to the right as he quipped "And since when are you a pencil pusher?"

Holding back a smile was all Chief could do as he stared down his three team-mates and friends. He arranged his uniform, patting it down, then spoke "It's a long story, Fred. Kelly, Linda... It's good to see you all made it alive from that fall."

"Aye. Good to see you too, John." Kelly responded in her thick Scottish accent, removing her helmet to reveal her buzzcut blue hair and trademark smile. "Looking snappy in that uniform, I must say... Did the brass suddenly promote ya to admiral and we didn't know about it 'till now?"

"I don't think he could hide that from Linda." Fred quipped, looking to the sniper behind them. The redhead, now with her helmet removed, chuckled.

"He's still wearing his MCPO ranking, you two. I don't think he's an admiral quite yet." She said, stepping forward "Although, with all that paperwork, you'd think he retired and found a cushy desk job now... Who was the girl that was in here a couple hours ago, John? She was dressed in fairly weird clothing. Like a maid or something..." And she paused "Wait... You don't have a maid, do you?"

"Uhm..." John paused... Then he heard the door being kicked in. The Spartans raised weapons to meet the intruders, only to see, sat in the middle of the room and dual-wielding two pistol-like weapons, a fringe of hair covering one of her amber eyes, the Maidinator sat square, guns aimed right at the Spartans... "Sheffield, at ease!" He barked at the Killer Maid...

"Sir... Who are they?" The shooter asked.

"It's fine, Sheffield. They're comrades of mine, from the UNSC." Chief clarified, then looked to his team and gave them reassuring nods... The trio lowered weapons and looked to the Chief with raised brows, while Sheffield lowered her own guns, which vanished thereafter. All the while, the Chief looked between the trio of supersoldiers and his subordinate ahead, only hearing more footsteps approach, some of which he recognized as Belfast's...

Oh, tonight was gonna be weird...


	14. The Blighted Hood

The wide open North Pacific Ocean stood before Task Force Hood as they went forth. Dark clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the sun as the Battlecruiser and her escorts stayed close in formation. Hood scanned the horizon, her expression impassive and her guns ranged right for it. Any sign of a silhouette would be enough for her to open fire. Victorious and Ark Royal had quickly picked up on the killer intent of the Pride of the Fleet, Ark being the most intimately familiar with what now stirred in Hood.

"Will lady Hood be alright?" Victorious murmured to Ark as her scouting planes returned. Ark sighed, leaning her own launching system on her shoulder as she watched on. She shook her head, then turned to Victorious, worryingly. The blonde-haired carrier frowned at her Swordfish-carrying counterpart, then sighed, turning to the flagship. Gusts of wind blew around them, with the sea getting precarious.

Hood locked eyes twice with Kent while she glanced at the horizon. A few droplets of rain fell first and what followed was a wall of rain that obstructed the girls' vision. The Pride of the Fleet had ordered the squadron to rally up and tighten formation, her eyes unable to pierce through the veil of water. The girls stumbled, going over progressively taller waves as the sea grew ever more terrifyingly dangerous.

"Hood!" Ark cried to the flagship "We should turn North and head for the Aleutians right now! This storm is getting worse and worse!"

"We'll be fine, Ark." Hood mused, her focus unbroken

"Not when we meet Bismarck, Hood! Neither I, nor Victorious will be able to launch our strike squadrons in this weather! Let's go!" Ark tried to be the voice of reason once more, but Hood seemed ignorant of the threat. Ark moved forward, placing a hand on Hood's shoulder. She froze when she saw Hood's eyes were empty, devoid of any remorse. Right now, the Pride of the Fleet was a killer... Focused on one goal alone:Vengeance. Sink the Bismarck...

Ark let her Flagship go forth, eyes wide, before she followed, falling in on her's right flank. Hood's eyes were locked on one point of the horizon, both Ark and Vicky now noticed as the group continued their advance. She was so focused on that spot, in fact, that her Turrets began to turn, angling to fire a salvo. Both Royal carriers nodded to each-other, distancing themselves from Hood. The Cruisers and Destroyer followed suit, as if the first enemy Salvo was already incoming...

And indeed, through the rain, eight shells fell in a broad area, soaking the Royal fleet more than they already were. Hood growled "There you are..." as her own guns tracked. Eight shots left Hood's Rigging, only for the Battle Cruiser to dash forth, through the rain and toward where the first enemy salvo had come from. Ark gritted her teeth, giving a signal to Kent to take the vanguard forth and assist Hood.

"This bloody weather..." She murmured to herself, trying to look through the rain...

She saw it! A silhouette. A small silhouette, barely visible through the ripples. Its rigging was smaller than that of a Battleship, as were the shells that it fired, Ark had now noticed. She gasped, surging forth with a hand wrapped around Victorious's wrist. A second salvo struck right in front of them, far too close for comfort. Ark gazed around, seeing multiple silhouettes appear all around. These were of Siren warships, characterized by the scarlet glow.

"No..." Ark whispered. Placing her hand on her com bead, she cried out "Hood! Hood! It's a trap! I say again, we've been fooled! Get back here right now!"

Static screamed in her ear. The storm must've been screwing with their coms. She caught herself before she swore, then looked to Victorious and said "Well, old girl... Looks like we've really done it this time..."

"Remind me to slap Lady Hood if we survive this..." Victorious murmured, looking around at the Siren ships as they closed the distance. She looked to Ark and asked "What's our plan of action here? Dash out and try to call for backup? Because I don't see us doing so..."

"We could, but we're slow... They'd catch up with us by the time we managed to get close enough to the Aleutians to call for backup... And the Storm has to break before we can do that." Responded the woman, holding close her launch system. "We can try and launch planes, for all that good's gonna do... To be fair, with how close range we are going to get..."

"It'd be prudent to at least try to survive, you know?" Victorious mused "I quite like to keep true to my name."

Ark half-snorted "I know... Well, if we're to go down... We go down like true Royal Navy..." And she readied her launcher. "We die standing."

Hood was far ahead, so far in fact that even the Vanguard had lost track of her. Good... She wanted to do this one-on-one. Closing distance with Bismarck, she aimed her guns for a point-blank strike. She'd take Bismarck down, no matter what it cost. For the people she'd killed, there'd be no peace to soothe their souls until the Iron Blood traitor was a wreck at the bottom of the ocean.

She broke through the rain, calling out "I have you now!" as she saw the red, black and grey of an Iron Blood uniform. Her guns roared, surely unable to miss at this range, and black smoke and heat surrounded the Battle Cruiser for a moment. She cocked her fist back and tried to strike through the smoke, where she'd last seen the figure, only to slam her fist into a hard, flat surface.

A blue-tinted light shined through the smoke as a hexagonal, uneven barrier of hard light appeared in front of her. A shield...?

She gasped, seeing the owner of the defensive system. With ashen silver hair caught in two ponytails and held in place by red armored plating, as well as a streak of scarlet on the left bang, with slightly more revealing Iron Blood clothing and an Iron Cross wrapped around her neck and with a pair of deep amber eyes staring right into Hood's own blue ones, the Heavy Cruiser KMS Prinz Eugen gave Hood a quirky smile.

"Surprise~." She mocked in her German accent.

"Eugen..." Hood growled, stepping back. "What are you doing here?"

"What could I possibly be doing here, _frau? _I'm here for a fight." She responded proudly, then nodded. One of her two rigging pieces, clearly modified Siren tech, jumped at Hood, trying to bite her... The Battlecruiser was quick to step out of the way, aiming her guns and firing another salvo right at Prinz, center-mass. Prinz chuckled as the shells exploded harmlessly on the shield, then said "Tsk tsk tsk, Hood... I'm not here for you... Rather I am here for your dear girls. Someone else wishes to speak to you, personally..."

Hood gasped as the whistle of shells came to her from the left. Eight fifteen inch shells slammed into and around Hood, exploding in a flash of heat and black smoke. Coughing, Hood found herself turning to face where the shells had come from, her white hat now torn and floating on the harsh seas, revealing Hood's dirty blond hair. As the smoke cleared, Hood eyed the tall silhouette of her quarry... And her quarry greeted her with aimed guns.

"Ah, the Mighty Hood... I thought I'd seen the last of you during _Rheinübung._" The Battleship remembered, holding close her mast and banner. Hood greeted Bismarck with her own salvo, but the Battleship was quick to dodge all eight shots, before surging forth and delivering a punch to Hood's stomach and a kick right to her face, sending the Battle Cruiser staggering.

Hood doubled over, then growled "Bismarck..."

"You know, I was wondering when you were going to come pay me a visit instead of that drat, Enterprise... She has been on my case for too long." Bismarck almost mockingly reminded herself Enterprise existed, glaring right at Hood. With condescension in her voice, she spoke "I was looking for a more fair foe, someone I could cross cannons with instead of having to focus on their air power... And with your carriers and escorts caught up with Prinz's posse, I may finally have a chance to finish what I started."

"You want a fight...?" Hood stood to her feet, holding onto her right arm as her clothes began to tear.

"I'd very much love one, miss Hood... Just not with someone like you. Too weak to even protect your citizens." Bismarck hatefully remarked... Hood's blood boiled in her veins at those words.

"And you!" The Royal Navy Kansen snapped back "Oh, so strong thanks to your betrayal! What do you earn from sinking merchant ships, Bismarck!? WHAT?! What did you earn when you betrayed us?! When you sunk Suffolk!?"

With only pragmatism in her voice and disregard for human life "I earn back what I want the most... Something that neither Azur Lane, nor humanity can provide me... Are you done talking?"

Hood responded promptly and without words, dashing forward and cocking her fist back. Her knuckles made contact with Bismarck's open palm as the Iron Blood flagship parried her old foe's strike, before delivering a nasty forehead right into Hood's nose. Hood grunted, but took a more battle-ready stance, moving back and starting to use her guns. Bismarck almost let slip a smile as she said "A duel of cannons... Thank you."

Shells glanced on Bismarck's armor or bounced off at a steep angle as the two heavyweight ships began to exchange shots on the raging sea. Shells cut through the walls of raindrops, striking water or hitting armored plating. Once or twice, the girls got close enough to exchange fisticuffs again, their gloves tearing at the knuckles as they beat each-other almost bloody... The next punch Hood delivered made her double over as she saw blood fall out of Bismarck's nose, but the Battleship didn't stop her unrelenting assault, unlike her Royal counterpart.

Bismarck's guns barked again and a shell disabled Hood's turret no. 3 and forcing the girl to break away, putting distance between the two of them. Hood responded in kind after finding distance, with three-fourths of a salvo screaming through the air at Bismarck. Yet more armor hits or near-misses... Bismarck had received substantial upgrades, Hood had now realized. Her rigging was up-armored, most definitely. And her guns hit much harder than during _Rheinübung_.

But Hood was not going to give up until one of them was on the ocean floor. She knew that was what Bismarck was counting on, so let her hope she could win. The Mighty Hood would not shy away from a fight. Yet more shells flew between the two as they danced a deadly dance, with Bismarck in the lead and Hood playing second fiddle to her movements, forced to react and respond instead of attack. She had to find a time to take the initiative...

Bismarck threw another punch, an uppercut that rocked Hood to the core and nearly broke some teeth. The Battleship then pummeled the Battle Cruiser with several rapid gut punches and two more haymakers. She grabbed Hood by the wrist, leaving herself exposed for but a moment... The Battle Cruiser had just found the opening she needed. With one balled fist, Hood's knuckles made contact with Bismarck's right eye, sending the Battleship back a few steps.

Hood capitalized, her guns working in conjecture with her fists as she hammered at Bismarck's face and stomach with her fists. She felt, underneath the clothing, hardened muscle and hard tissue as she struck. Bismarck had indeed been upgraded somewhat. That, or the Battleship had trained hard... But a lucky blow from Hood was what did send Bismarck into a defensive stance. She'd hit the spot where Enterprise had shot Bismarck without even realizing it.

Hood grinned and delivered a haymaker right to Bismarck's jaw. Teeth nearly broke and the Battleship spat iron blood, indeed, out of her mouth, glaring at Hood with burning blue eyes. She caught Hood's wrist, pushing the hand away and delivered a knee right to her gut, making the battle cruiser Kansen cough up spit. Hood responded, after freeing her hand, by grabbing Bismarck by the back of her head and kneeing her right in the face...

Blood remained on her blue dress, her eyes widening as she heard the crack of Bismarck's nose. The Battleship with a bloody nose, angered and now able to take the initiative from Hood, did so mercilessly, pounding at Hood with heavy hits from both her guns and any hard part of her body she could use as a blunt trauma instrument. A fist to the nose and another to the side of Hood's head, right in the temple, sent the Kansen back with blurring vision.

Hood fired again, but seeing three Bismarcks didn't help her aim. All six shells went wide, while Bismarck's own struck true. Eight 15 inch shells rammed into Hood, burning through the Kansen's armor and severely damaging more of her rigging. Hood started tasting copper... She spat into her palm, only to see blood... Her own blood... In her open palm. She stared up at Bismarck with mouth agape and eyes wide, before falling to her knees as she started to feel the damage take hold.

Bismarck held in her hand the flag of the Iron Blood navy, put on a mast-like pole with a sharp end. She spun it about, holding it now like a spear, then said "This ends here, Hood... You've been a good adversary..." And she almost seemed remorseful, now staring down at Hood with nothing more than pity in her eyes. Hood stared up, trying to will her own legs to work, or her guns...

... Prince of Wales steamed at full speed ahead, with Enterprise and the others close behind her. She'd found Ark and Vicky, severely damaged, but alive after their scuffle with those Mass-Production sirens. Now, she faced off against Eugen in a gun duel at range. Her own weapons roared, echoing in the distance as Enterprise's Aircraft danced overhead, struggling with nature itself to stay in the air and pin a bomb right on that insufferable Heavy Cruiser's head.

Prinz chuckled, then teased "Am I holding you back from rescuing your mighty Hood, Prince of Wales? Oh, what a shame..."

"I'll have your head, you know that? Where's Bismarck and Hood!?" The Battleship tried to close the distance, using her sword. "Enterprise! Send a squadron forward and see if you can find Hood!"

"I'm working on it!" Enterprise yelled "The weather isn't exactly a monster I can fight, Wales!"

"I know! Keep trying!" She yelled. This had been a trap. One that she was so dumb to think Hood could handle alone, especially with her grudge coming into play here. Bismarck had orchestrated all of this. All of it. Her and the Sirens... And if they lost Hood now, that would be another major blow to Azur Lane morale, so soon after the Northern Parliament's Baltic Fleet was wiped out...

No... No, she wouldn't let that happen.

Her blade finally made contact with steel:Prinz's rigging... Prinz smiled coyly "Ah, looks like you caught me, dear Wales..." And she chuckled. The wolf-like head of her rigging nearly bit into Wales's side, but thankfully Kent's guns were quicker on the draw, nearly disabling Prinz's own. The Iron Blood Cruiser found it prudent to push Wales away and disengage. After all, the party between Hood and Bismarck was very much over at this point. She sighed, faking sadness as she said "My dear girls, I'm so sorry, but I do believe tonight's event is over. I do really have to go, but it has been nice seeing you."

She ducked under Wales' salvo and two bombs from Enty's planes as the overcast began to clear. Prinz had vanished under the salvo with nothing but a last, mocking laugh at the girls. Wales grit her teeth, then turned her head to the side, only to see them... Hood was on her knees and Bismarck towered over her, her little banner in hand and aimed right at Hood...

"NO!" Wales cried, raising her guns all too late...

As the spear tip pierced Hood's midsection, coming out of the other side a dark red, viscous liquid pooled around the Battleship and her beaten foe, falling from the entry and exit wounds left by the weapon. Wales' eyes went wide and her breath hinged as tears streaked down her cheeks. She swore, raising her guns and firing three of them. The shells landed wide of Bismarck, but did catch her attention. She turned to face the Combined Fleet , lifting Hood, now motionless, with the spear embedded in her stomach, up. Prinz was behind Bismarck, chuckling vilely as she sat there...

Enterprise glared at Bismarck, raising her bow and launching five arrows toward the Battleship. Prinz raised her shield and caught all five before they made contact, shattering them. Without another word, Bismarck tossed aside Hood's seemingly-lifeless body, before wiping her face first, then her weapon. She nodded to Prinz and the two left, vanishing into the thick fog that had begun to settle over the North.

Everyone rushed to the wounded Battlecruiser's side, Wales cradling Hood's head in her arms as Enterprise looked over the wounds. The Eagle Union carrier swore, then said "It's bad... She's alive, but she's in shock. C'mon, we have to tow her back to port! Kent, Ark, Vicky, help us with Hood, now!" She waved forth the girls, before turning to Wales, who, herself, was in shock... She put her hands on Wales's shoulders, then called out "Wales! Snap the hell out of it! We need to get Hood to safety, you read me!?"

Wales nodded weakly, staring at the paling girl in her embrace.

Enterprise pulled Wales's gaze to her own and said "We'll get them for this... I promise you... But we have to go... Now..."

And Wales simply nodded again, standing up and assisting as best she could.


	15. The Motley Crew

In the South, the situation seemed more or less calm, compared to the Northern engagement. The sky overhead was clear, although night had began to fall. The path the girls took was only illuminated by the full moon and the lights on the Rigging of the leading ships. Laffey, Jav and Cygnet held in a tight wedge formation, with Laffey's torpedoes ready to greet any oncoming assault. Illustrious's aircraft flew in overhead, at high altitude.

Jav was quick to notice Laffey squinting, more focused than usual. Although she was still the bobbing sleepyhead they all knew and loved, something seemed eerily different about her tonight. Enough so that Javelin found herself asking absentmindedly "Are you okay, Laffey?" as they traveled past the dark, masked silhouettes of the islands around them. Laffey nodded, readying her weapon.

"Have a bad feeling, 's all." She responded. "Lady Illustrious... Are we okay?"

"Nothing on radar so far, young one." Illustrious noted. "No visual contact either, from my scout squadron... If there truly is a Carrier battle group here, they're either well-masked, or have forgot to deploy their early-warning aircraft."

"Or we're steaming ahead into an ambush..." Mused Warspite, gazing around for her foes. Yet, in the darkness, nothing seemed to stir but the sea itself. Laffey felt a pit form in her stomach the further forward they advanced and she could tell that spread to Jav and Cygnet. The latter trembled, eyes darting from left to right and up and down, while Javelin held close her namesake weapon, glaring forth.

Unicorn jumped slightly. The little Support Carrier said "Stand by..." as she listened in, eyes scanning her surroundings while her plush unicorn, Ugean, shook in her hands. She gasped, then warned "My scouts are down! They were on their way back to land as they got shot down, so..." She looked to Illustrious, scared. The older carrier smiled reassuringly, arranging her hat, before looking ahead.

"Radar spotted unidentified aircraft. Two wings, maybe more... Going by the aircraft profile, it's Zeroes." She murmured "Launching interception wing-"

Her sentence got cut short by Laffey doubling back and pushing her to the side, before the agile destroyer moved away with best speed too. Three 500kg bombs struck the sea where Illustrious had once sat, before Laffey pushed her out of the way. The delivering aircraft, three Aichi D3As, or 'Vals' as they were called by most other navies, banked up, trying to avoid the sure-to-come anti-air fire. The Destroyers all spun their guns to meet the threat and raked the trio of strike craft with enough lead to have them falling deep into the ocean's darkness.

Of course, that wasn't the last of them... Flying at low altitude, Nakajima 'Kate' torpedo bombers dropped their payload several meters ahead of the interception fleet, before turning away to avoid the gunfire that came soon after. Laffey, Cygnet and Javelin all managed to dodge, followed by Warspite herself grabbing Unicorn and moving out of the way of the torpedoes. Warspite looked up, calling out "Illustrious! Launch your SeaFires, now!"

A nod from the carrier was followed by about a dozen aircraft leaving her flight decks, going at maximum speed up into the sky. Tracers lit up the night as the first SeaFire fighter went head-first with the enemy's own aircraft and balls of flame fell as the aircraft raked each-other's hulls with MG fire. Warspite looked forth, to see several silhouettes over the horizon, then called out "I have line of sight on the enemy Fleet! I'm seeing at least one carrier!"

"One carrier couldn't have launched three separate squadrons, Warspite." Illustrious mused "Not this fast and not this close..." And she gasped, staring up and directing her aircraft to the left and right. The divided squadrons slammed head-first into the wings of Zero fighters banking hard to engage them. More Kates appeared down below, followed by a wave of Val Divers coming in from high above.

Laffey bumped elbows with Jav, then said "You take the Kates, I'll take the Vals." in her usual sleepy voice. With a nod, the two graciously began to engage their targets with semi-accurate fire, while Illustrious and Warspite tried to figure out who the enemy attacking them was. The attack had been fast and brutal, taking out their eye in the sky first, before distracting them and sending in a wave of Bombers...

For all her craziness, Warspite could never forget those scarlet-shining eyes and the burning red kimono of the Sakura Aircraft Carrier leading the enemy Task Force. Two red, empty eyes stared at Illustrious and Warspite. A tilt of the head and a deranged smile soon confirmed what the girls already knew... And Illustrious spat out her name "IJN Carrier Taihou..."

"Ah, Illustrious~... It has been certainly too long since I have last seen your face." The woman almost sang her words, her voice sending shivers up the fleet's spines. "I and my friends were expecting the Grey Ghost, to be quite honest, but you will do just fine for now. Both you and your little protege..."

Unicorn whimpered, hiding behind Warspite... The Battleship glared, then barked "Think twice before you speak, you insane woman... You aren't touching us."

"Oh, of course, Warspite... You've got a bark, as usual, but can you bite as well, dog?" The carrier mocked. Warspite simply glared, putting her longsword in front of her. Taihou's smile remained as she continued "So, I see... Good thing you can, then. Oh, Hiei~! Looks like I found that sparring partner you've been looking for!" staring with empty eyes at Warspite still... Laffey, however, responded to that name worst, her eyes going wide as she readied her weapon.

The Battleship emerging from behind Taihou brandished a katana and British-made guns on her rigging. Pushing her long black hair over her shoulder, she said "So I see. Thank you, Taihou... She will do just fine."

"Of course." The Carrier then eyed Laffey, letting out a chuckle "Ah, of course... The rabbit~! Don't worry, I have a partner for you as well tonight. Oh, Yuudachi! Your and your sisters' playdate is also here." And she stepped aside, revealing a trio of destroyers from the IJN, all of whom had wolf's ears on top of their heads. The leading one, in a standard sailor uniform with her color pallette(Being black, red and white) looked at Laffey with condescension.

"Heh... _The _Laffey, then?" The little girl bared her fangs in a dangerous grin. "A worthy opponent for I, the Nightmare of Solomon, at last."

Laffey took a combative stance, then said "Illustrious... As much as I hate saying this, we need to fall back..."

"Oh, no, you don't..." Responded another pair of carriers from behind the girls as they steamed up to the battle formation. The Crane sisters, Shoukaku and Zuikaku, sat facing the six Azur Lane ships. Zuikaku let slip a chuckle "This is almost sad, sister. So few of them versus so many of us. Disappointing, really, since I did hope for the Grey Ghost to be with them at least."

"Your rivalry can wait for now, dear sister." Shoukaku mused, holding her flute close. "We've a battle to fight."

"Well... This is quite the pickle, isn't it...?" Warspite murmured, readying her sword. "Laffey...?"

"Mmm?" The Destroyer lead raised a brow.

Warspite didn't want to wait anymore. Not for some sodding monologue given by traitors to the Azur Lane cause and to that of humanity. She glared, raised her sword and called out "I'll save a piece of Hiei for you..." As she surged forth, raising her sword. Hiei raised her own blade to greet Warspite's and, like the crack of lightning and thunder, the two blades made contact with a wild spark, the ignition of the battle...

Laffey surged forward, charging right into the Nightmare of Solomon with her shoulder and sending the little girl skidding backward. Her foe was nimble, however, and fast enough to raise her weapon. Laffey dodged under the first shell fired by Yuudachi, before raising her own gun and blasting twice toward the Destroyer, beginning a dance that the other Destroyers mirrored with their respective foes.

Illustrious and Unicorn found themselves fighting together, forming a bubble of air defenses around them while trying to catch the enemy's three carriers in the open. Torpedoes, machine gun fire and bombs were exchanged in a bright display of the raw firepower evoked by the warships. Tracers lit the night, possibly visible for miles. Laffey was in a tight melee, dodging and weaving while trying to land shots, an action mirrored by the 'Nightmare of Solomon'. The only difference between them was speed and the way they looked...

Laffey seemed calm, but wide awake, scarlet eyes locked onto her quarry, while Yuudachi bared her teeth, growling as she shot back at her insufferable foe with High-Explosive rounds. The Eagle Union Destroyer danced around the shots as water splashed onto her clothes, lining up shot after shot and yet missing time and time again. She turned her head for but a second, to look at the duel between Warspite and Hiei and wondering if they could switch partners... Before she parried a fist thrown her way by the runt of an IJN destroyer ahead and raising her gun.

The dance of steel between the two Battleships was a remarkable combination of skilled swordsmanship and close-quarters, split-second shots from the cannons on their rigging. It was the drum-beat of war at its finest and both girls reveled in its sounds, their blades crossing time and time again. Warspite parried and struck, only to be countered by Hiei's expert mobility with her blade. The heavy strikes from the Royal battleship nearly broke through the woman's defenses several times, but the Sakura girl retaliated and returned the stalemate that had started to set in.

Cygnet and Jav were driven into fighting back-to-back against the assailing, fairly mobile Sakura destroyers, sisters to Yuudachi. That made them stationary targets. That made them e_asy _targets. Cygnet asked "What do we do, Jav?! They have us pinned!"

"Keep fighting! We'll find an opening, I'm sur-Gah!" A shell struck Javelin's midsection, but detonating too close for comfort... Shrapnel raked the armor and nearly disabled Javelin's weapon, but thankfully, she was quick to respond, sending a wave of gunfire toward whoever had hit her... Above, planes dueled while their carriers simply watched. Illustrious and Unicorn had sealed themselves in their own little bubble of defenses, letting their dwindling fighter numbers take on the Carriers' massed assault.

Taihou seemed to take pleasure in watching from the sidelines...

Laffey gritted her teeth, breaking off from her dance with Yuudachi for one second to launch Torpedoes toward the Fleet Commander. She turned her gaze to meet Yuudachi's fist with her right eye. The Benson-class Destroyer staggered, doubling over as she held onto her eye... With a glare and shining eyes, Laffey racked her weapon's bolt and almost growled "Deactivating self-imposed limiter..." And charged Yuudachi, cocking back her own fist and feinting a strike to the left that the IJN destroyer went to parry, only to find herself taking a knee to the gut... "_Poi!" _grunted the young one in pain as she coughed out spit.

Laffey quickly completed with a three-shot salvo. Two shots bounced off the Rigging, but a third splashed across Yuudachi's midsection, tearing cloth and nearly breaking her torpedo tube. The USN Destroyer held onto the initiative with her teeth as she delivered a roundhouse right to the side of Yuudachi's head. The girl spun in place, doubled over and nearly dropped, but she recovered too late, only to see Laffey raising her gun and taking the shot...

Right at Hiei. She called out to Warspite "Warspite! Switch!" and slammed into Hiei's back at full speed, breaking the blade-crossed stalemate by staggering her foe and allowing the Royal battleship to sidestep her, going right for a now-frightened Yuudachi. Two bombs, however, cut Warspite's charge short, slamming right into her rigging and breaking two of her four turrets, as well as sending her to her knees. She looked up, to see more Val bombers...

"God dammit..." Warspite murmured, jumping to her feet and slicing two more bombs in half. She turned her guns toward the assailant-Zuikaku-and fired. The Crane, however, was quicker, dodging past and lashing out with her sword drawn.

Laffey had pounced onto Hiei's back, planting the barrel of her gun into her foe's rigging and firing a concerto of shots while Hiei tried to reach her.

"Get off of me, you runt!" Hiei grunted, trying to stab at Laffey with her sword...

"No." Was Laffey's deadpan response. She jumped off, firing another string of torpedoes at incredibly close range, more to scare Hiei than anyhing. It, unsurprisingly, didn't work and Hiei's blade nearly sliced Laffey across the face, had it not been for the girl parrying with her own gun and kicking Hiei's hand away. She, however, couldn't do the same to Hiei's still-functioning guns, all eight of which fired, point-blank, into the Destroyer and sending her flying across the sea.

Jav gasped and yelled "Laffey!" before glaring at the enemy destroyers... She spoke to Cygnet "Follow me!" before overpowering her turbines and driving right _into _the second destroyer running circles around them, body-slamming her and sending her to the floor while attempting to pierce the second with her lance and forcing her to dodge out of the way.

Two of Illustrious's bombers managed to break out of the encirclement caused by the enemy trying to dogfight them. Aiming right for Taihou, the two bombers dived right for the mad carrier, but were sliced in half by Shoukaku's own 'paper' planes. Playing her flute, the young woman directed her birds by song, right back toward the nearly-depleted Carriers. Sixteen bombers, four of which were carrying torpedoes, went for the pinned-down Unicorn and Illustrious, who had now started taking damage, visible by their torn clothing and staggering...

"Looks like this is it..." Illustrious said, taking her young protege's hand... She smiled weakly, through the black soot on her face, then said "Stay close, Unicorn..."

From loudspeakers, droning out the noise of aircraft engines, the song _Kickstart My Heart! _blared aloud...

Machine Gun fire turned the enemy's aircraft into burning wrecks, however. And not long after, SBD Dauntlesses and Hell Divers dropped their payloads inches away from the Carriers and Battleship of the Sakura Empire, followed in by Hellcat Fighters raking the destroyers and the swarm above Lusty and Uni with M2 Fifty Cals. Like a flash, following these planes in the water, six destroyers of the Fletcher family streamed in, guns barking and torpedoes swimming, forcing the enemy to dodge...

"What!?" Taihou hollered, cocking her head toward the area the reinforcements had come from... She froze...

Blue hair in pony tails, deep teal eyes and a blue uniform bearing their service numbers, two USN Carriers advanced in, followed by a third in the rear, who had blonde hair... Their rigging looked far more modern and clearly, far more dangerous. With a grin on her face, the left carrier spoke jovially "Finally! A sortie that isn't just the pure boredom of patrol upon patrol!"

Her sister chuckled "Enthusiastic as ever, I see, Intrepid."

"Ya kidding? Yo, Bataan! You agree that this is more fun, right?" Intrepid smirked, looking back. A warm smile from the blonde behind them was all the answer Inty needed, glaring at Hiei and at the enemy's own forces. She chuckled darkly as she saw Taihou, then said "So that's the woman that's been causing us problems down here, eh? Well, hello, new target."

"I'd ease on that for now, Inty." The leader of the group responded, slowing down to within a few meters off of Taihou, Hiei and the Cranes, offering mockingly "Well, ladies... Care to do this the civilized way? Or should we sic Bataan on you and call it a day?"

"E-Essex! Please!" The blonde whimpered

The Carrier crossed her arms... And she sighed as two Dive Bombers, Taihou's, to be exact, dived for her... She rolled her eyes, then said "Alright... Girls. Let's sink these two-faced traitors!" And her Rigging shifted into position. Six Dauntlesses took off of her wing and dived right for Taihou... Hiei and Zui cut them out of the sky and Shoukaku approached Taihou, her musical instrument stowed under her arm.

"We should retreat now..." She whispered... And noticing the deathly glare the woman gave the USN Aircraft carriers, she continued "I'm detecting another Hell Diver squadron. It's clear that Bunker Hill is also near by. They outnumber us and have the air power necessary to win." sternly, turning her own gaze to the enemy. The Essex sisters and Bataan were ready, the latter, despite resembling a puppy, glaring daggers right back at them. Taihou gritted her teeth, then sighed.

"You've won today..." She growled toward Illustrious and Unicorn. "Let's go."

And as the girls turned to leave, Essex grabbed a chasing Intrepid by the back of her collar and said "We won, Inty... Calm down." while her sister protested, blushing furiously. She let go as the enemy fell back, then approached the Azur Lane's wounded girls, taking a knee beside Illustrious, Unicorn and the hammered and sleeping Laffey, then said "Well... That went well?"

Lusty smiled "It is good to see you too, Essex, Intrepid... It... Went about as well as it could, considering the ambush."

"They walked away better off than you, though..." Intrepid mused, joining them. "Need a tow back to the NZ base?"

"Not to sound rude, ladies, but... How'd you find us?" Jav asked. Inty smiled, then jerked a thumb back at Bataan, who blushed, starting to play with her hair. Javelin smiled back, then leaned on her spear, nearly falling over as she whimpered to herself "That could've been bad..." and turned to her fellow destroyer, to ask her "Cygnet? How's Laffey?"

"Asleep... I'm okay too..." Murmured the young'un...

"Good thing Bataan saw your firefight, girls... C'mon, we'll give you a tow back to the New Zealand base and we can chat there." Intrepid said, offering Illustrious a hand. The gracious Royal Navy lady took it, helping herself and Unicorn to her feet. The six Fletchers helped ferry Laffey on their backs, with Jav and Cygnet supporting each-other. Intrepid turned to Lusty and started "One more thing... We heard there's a new Commander for the Pacific operations... That true?"

Illustrious gave Inty an approval in the form of her trademark smile...

And Essex sighed, seeing the grin on Inty's face grow. "Well, Bataan..." She murmured "Looks like we may get reassigned back to Pearl in the end."

... Today was one hell of a long day for all...


	16. Save us

Night had come during the discussion. Leaning against his desk, John had just finished exposing to Blue Team every intricate detail of the situation they all now found themselves in. It had taken about an hour of total silence from Fred, Kelly and Linda for the Chief to finish the briefing and by the end, John had caught about a dozen minor changes in their posture and in their faces. Sheffield was beside him, corroborating the details that Chief had given from both her own experience and that of other Kansen that were close to her, like Belfast. Fred disbelievingly stared on, looking at the Kansen that served as example to the insanity of this world, while Kelly and Linda had a silent, seemingly almost-telepathic conversation regarding this.

Chief shifted slightly in his posture as he finished "... And that brings us to today." to let his team process what they'd just had laid out in front of them. He watched for their reactions. A minute passed before Fred sighed, then blinked... And spoke.

"Well... This is certainly on the crazier side of things we've heard, seen and done..."

Kelly and Linda nodded, with Kelly piping up "Considering we got Sheffield over here, I think that's proof enough that none of us have lost our minds. So... Uh... Hi?"

Sheffield gave a curt nod and a bow to Kelly, then said "The Master Chief has been in command for some time now and he has proven himself efficient. If you are teammates of his, from the Spartan project, I can only imagine you will be much the same." calmly looking between the trio. Her amber eyes then locked on the Chief just as the alarms blared and she said "We have incoming wounded... May I suggest we go downstairs to welcome them?"

Chief had read in a briefing about the multitudes of alarm types. Currently, the alarms wailed thrice in two seconds, with a half second break in-between, signaling the arrival of the wounded. Looking to his team, he got nods as they all jumped to their feet. The group soon departed from the office, to go to the pier, witnessing two squadrons of Kansen approaching from different angles... With Enterprise's team holding up the paling Hood...

"That doesn't look good..." Linda said, scoping in Hood. "She's got a laceration in her abdomen. And from the looks of the damage, there's an exit wound."

Chief looked to Sheffield, then ordered "Go tell Vestal to prepare everything... I have a feeling Hood will need all the meds that she can muster." and noticed Sheffield's surprise and horror within moments. She looked to him, then left quickly toward Vestal's repair ward. Bulins soon trotted out with a stretcher as the Kansens' Riggings reformed into their true-to-life ship models. Hood's ship had a massive, shining blue crack down the center.

Enterprise was the first to step on land, holding up Hood's head as they set her down on the stretcher. The woman leaned forward, exhaling, then looked up at the Chief and... His three other armored comrades. She regarded them with awe, then asked in a murmur "When did they get here...?" before eyeing the Chief again. He watched the others stumbling onto the pier, then with composure and clarity, he ordered his subordinates "Anyone who can walk, get to Vestal. Anyone who hasn't been hurt in the least, you're with me. I need a debriefing on what the hell I'm looking at, effective immediately. My teammates will help however they can."

He looked to Fred and said "Go talk to Infinity. She should be near by Vestal's too." then to Linda and Kelly "You are coming with me, Enterprise and Blue Team, in my office, now. So you can understand what is going on better." and finally, he looked to the squad of four that had clearly gotten there to help Illustrious, Unicorn and Warspite and said "And you three..."

All three stood at attention and quickly brought their hands up in salute, surprised at the sight of the new man commanding the Azur Lane base. He saluted back and asked "What're your names?"

"Sir. Essex-class carriers USS Essex, USS Intrepid USS Bunker Hill and Independence-class carrier USS Bataan." The blue-haired one of the group answered promptly. He gave them approving nods.

"Take it you're the NZ garrison... Why'd you come all the way out here?"

"Sir. We provided escort for your mixed fleet. Requesting permission to remain here as QRF." Essex responded promptly. Chief noticed her shuddering from the moment the girl had made eye contact with Enterprise, so there was something going on there... He hummed, arranging his uniform and watching as the sky overhead turned even darker, thanks to the clouds blocking out the moon.

"What about your comrades in New Zealand?" He asked.

"A battlegroup from the Royal Navy was coming to relieve us, which included Rodney, King George the Fifth and a squadron of other Battleships. We were on our way out when we caught wind of the assault on your fleet, sir." Intrepid joined in the explanation. "We could use a little hang-time around Pearl to keep our feet dry and hopefully go out there to hunt from here."

"I see... Come into the office tomorrow. After I'm done with the debriefing for Enterprise, I need to deal with something. We'll talk then." He nodded. "Dismissed."

Leaving with his team and those he'd asked to debriefing and the relatively quick briefing of Blue Team from another word of mouth than his own or Sheffield's. A short walk and the team was already inside the office with him. Enterprise and the others had arrived far too late for any proper answers and with Wales sat by Hood's bedside, Chief had to wonder if they were going to lose Hood herself... No, he should trust Vestal. The girl managed to fix up Infinity's Rigging... He just hoped Hood wouldn't be too far gone.

Sighing and squelching the thought, he looked up to his team, then offered "I'd suggest you and the girls go find Belfast, Fred. She'll find you a room. I have to have a talk with The Grey Ghost over here..."

He noticed all 3 gave Enterprise a surprised stare, only now realizing who she was. He sighed, dismissing them with a nod. Kelly had left last, closing the door behind them and Enterprise, who was now sat down on the couch on the right, rubbing her eyes, turned to the Chief, the bags under her eyes bigger... He sighed, knowing he'd have to change the mood in the room, which, right now, was about as heavy as his old armor without power. Standing up, he walked toward the table, pouring himself some water from a pitcher and he quipped "So... Uhm..."

... He had nothing that wouldn't sound insensitive with the current situation. Yet he saw he caught her attention... She was first to smile, weakly, then continue with his exact thoughts "... Guess I'm missing practice today, huh...?" her voice tired. He couldn't suppress a snort at that, one borne mostly out of how they thought the same thing. She shook her head, taking her hat off to reveal the rest of her dirty, snow-white hair was a ruffled mess.

Chief walked to her side and sat himself down, handing her the cup of water he'd poured and pouring himself another one, before answering "Guess we both are... I have a lot of paperwork to do and I don't think Wales can help..."

Enty chuckled, leaning her head into her hand... Then sighing "If I had been quicker, maybe Hood would've been..."

"It's not your fault."

Chief was incredibly blunt with that one line. He had seen right through the quips and what she wanted to be a poker face. She took a sip, avoiding eye contact with the Spartan, then breathed out, holding the cup with both hands and staring into the clear liquid. "Chief, I-" She started, but a shake of his head in her peripheral vision cut her off. He set his cup down onto the table, turning toward her.

"This is nobody's fault, Enterprise." He mused. "At least nobody's that went out today. Any fault lies with me for not reeling any of you in or paying more attention. Although I do understand where all of you acted from... Hood wanted payback for HMS Suffolk and for the betrayal. You wanted to keep her safe, as did Wales. Illustrious and the others only want to do their jobs... I warned Wales I wasn't made to be a Commander for a fleet or an organization. Especially one as... _Diverse _as Azur Lane."

"Chief..." Enty shook her head "Don't put all that on yourself either. This was a team failure due to poor coordination and lack of communication. We didn't really take to that whole 'open door policy' of yours to heart, mostly because I think all of us never saw you around and out of your office much, so we assumed it was still the same as before you'd arrived, with Kansen doing their own thing and joining up in fleets for major operations. You're a good commander... But I think we're lousy listeners."

"Mhm..." He sighed, arranging his uniform. Maybe he should've gone out more... He would start that now. "Can't save them all..." He murmured to himself, pulling several sets of dog tags from his pocket and looking at them. On the chainlet was also what looked like a chip, one that slotted into his armor. Enty's eyes grew into saucers and her mouth went dry at the tags as her own memories swung back to her. She sighed, looking down at her cup again, murmuring something in agreement.

"Hood is going to be okay, Chief..." She said, gazing back to him. "Vestal's the best damn repair ship around. If anyone can fix up that old tea-drinking lunatic, it's her."

"She's fixed you up plenty of times after your so glorious escapades, so I'll believe that." He joked, sliding the Dog Tags back into his pocket... Huh, odd. He was never one to make jokes about stuff like that... Guess his time with the Kansen really did change his perspective on life. That or he felt more at ease with Blue Team around, giving him the ability to actually make some sort of joke... Of course, Enterprise didn't take it as a joke, raising a brow at him. He hummed, sighing, then asked as he remembered "Enterprise. You and your sister... What happened between you two?"

An angry glare turned into a frown. Averting her eyes from his, the woman said "I don't want to talk about it... Not yet."

"Still don't trust me enough?" He asked.

"It's... I trust you. But this is too personal." She answered, her voice softening. "I'm sorry."

"I understand..." He nodded. "I'll try to take to that advice you gave me."

"Oh?"

"I'll get a little more involved in the command role... It's more than just paperwork after all." He motioned to the stack of finished papers on the left of his desk. The Carrier Kansen almost cracked a smile at the Spartan's words.

"Say... Did you pick a proper secretary ship yet?" She asked, standing up. "To deal with the paperwork while you go out and do socializing."

"I thought the job came with Prince of Wales already occupying that position and letting me do all paperwork. Although, to be fair... I shouldn't take her away from Hood for this. She's worried." He mused. Enty shook her head, standing up and walking to the stack of papers, taking one. Of course, Chief had impeccably completed them with a proper signature and everything. She turned to him, a raised brow again, but a look of approval. She gave a nod to him, setting the paper back down.

"Oh, well..." She shrugged, turning to walk away.

Chief squinted. "Oh... I see..."

Enterprise jumped "What?"

"Miss Enterprise. I do need a new secretary for the time being, do I not?" He quipped. "And I figure it is a good way to keep my eye on you, since you directly disobeyed my order for the _third time _in the span of my short command here." And upon seeing her turning paler than chalk, he continued "The least amount of punishment I can give the Grey Ghost herself would be some paperwork, would you not say so? Or do you want me to give you cleaning duty?"

... Between a rock and a hard place... Well played, Master Chief. Well played. She sighed, hands slumping by her body and murmured "I don't have a say in the matter, do I?"

"No. Welcome to your new job for the duration of Hood's recovery and Wales' subsequent rest with Hood, miss Enterprise." He part mocked, part welcomed the relief of not having to write god damn papers all day long while others fought. And now, his counterpart would know what that felt like. She scoffed, then bowed her head in defeat and sat herself down on the couch again.

She looked to Chief again and spoke "You're a mean one, Master Chief."

"It comes with the rank... Anyways. I will drop by the Repair ward tomorrow. Right now, I'm fairly sure that if Belfast finds me upstairs again, I won't hear the end of it. I recommend you get to your room as well, Enterprise." He looked to her... And his expression had actually softened, which was enough for Enterprise's hear to skip a beat as he continued "Rest is fairly important after all."

Suppressing a blush, the woman nodded. The Chief bid her good night and left, leaving her alone in the office. She stood up, walking to the window and started playing with her hair... Her and Hornet, huh...? She wondered how long had it been?

... Chief had fallen asleep, but this wasn't his usual, dreamless sleep. No. Instead, he found himself having a semi-lucid dream. He knew he was dreaming, but he couldn't do anything. And the world around him was frightening to say the least. Ahead of him, there was an open, blood-red sea stretching for miles and the sky above shined a blinding white, bright enough that if Chief stared, his retinas burned. It was almost like a Siren Mirror Sea. Those weird events that the Siren could manifest when desiring to take control of the battlefield and twist it in their favor.

In the brightness, however, he had spotted them. Two figures approached him. He could not make out their faces, but their clothes were visible. A violet kimono and scarlet coat worn by the woman on the left and pure-white clothes mirroring those of Bismarck's on the one on the right. Squinting and trying to get a look at their faces, he heard them speak... Two words.

"_Find us..."_

And around him, the brightness became black. A hard, ashen black, lit only by the faint blue light of what looked to be an ancient piece of alien technology. Chief blinked away the discomfort, his vision, though blurry, returning to him as he looked around. He was on a bridge made of a silver metal, with strands of golden energy and hieroglyphs so familiar to him floating through what looked like stained glass. Around him, deep in a cave, Forerunner technology shined bright blue, in contrast to the gold below his feet and the black, volcanic rock and ash that made up the cave walls. It was almost as if Forerunner tech had been... Merged...

And ahead of him, a monolith that spewed that same golden brightness through its geometrically-perfect, hexagonal viewports, sat. He took two steps forth, toward it, approaching that stained glass through which the light poured. The Glass spoke to him. Whispered to him to touch it, almost begging. Two words echoed in Chief's head. The same female voices. The same words._"Find us..."_

Against his preservation instincts and training, he put his hand into the light. And it flashed once, vanishing moments after and clearing the stained glass view port. He looked inside and, within, he saw a figure. It was too dark to make out, but he could see her hair and the two animal, presumably fox ears that were on her head, as well as all the devices and wires she was attached to...

Two lilac eyes opened, shining a blinding light once more into Chief's own eyes and a melodious, young voice cried to him in a harsh, begging tone

"**_Save us_****!**"

The faces of the two women, one a young woman with fox-like tails and ears and another, a woman with an impassive, ice-cold glare borne out of blue eyes and short, white hair, were imprinted upon his retinas, as well as the location, the mountain below which. And to that, John awoke with a start, straightening up in his bed and looking around the room. He felt his heart nearly pounding out of his chest and blinked, rubbing his eyes. He shouldn't have been startled by what felt like a simple nightmare. That was all it was, he thought to himself, a dumb nightmare. Or was it? It was incredibly real.

Whatever that was, it felt... Too real... The cave?

The walls?

The Forerunner tech...

... It was in Hawaii. It was close. And Chief knew it. He just didn't know what volcano it was.

Some sort of gut feeling told him he'd need to find it. And whoever those women were. He'd take Blue Team out on an expedition when things were more stable... For now though, he needed to get back to bed. It was 12 in the morning and he still had a job to do tomorrow, which included training Enterprise and, if possible, having Blue Team start training the other Kansen. He'd have to make a memo that no operations were to be undertaken unless they were considered of extreme importance for the next few weeks while Hood-and the base's morale-recovered. For now, though?

Back to bed.

Damn Coffee. He needed stronger one.


	17. Peace and Quiet

Enterprise had _surprisingly _missed training. The Chief was keen enough to remind her to train early in the morning...

She didn't miss the fact she lacked the upper body strength to actually fight back, though. Chief had been quick to put her up to military-grade training, including push-ups, laps around the base and fighting the punching bag. The lattermost was what she was currently focused on doing, delivering punches that turned weaker with each attempt and were so uncoordinated that she nearly stumbled over her running shoes' laces twice.

Enterprise, in a black tank top and baggy training jeans and with her hair caught up in a ponytail, fought with a long bag filled with sand and was _losing. _Her arms were sore as all hell and sweat draped her from heat to friggin' toe. She leaned against the bag, panting as she felt her palms drenched in sweat under the boxing gloves Chief had given her to not break her wrists.

"How're you feeling?" He asked almost mockingly, raising a brow.

Through the panting, the woman spoke "I'd try and punch you if I didn't know you would just dodge..."

"You're so imbalanced you'd miss on your own." He quipped, garnering a glare from the Grey Ghost as he went walking past her. "Gloves off." He then ordered. She undid the velcro binds and tossed the damn things aside, revealing her sweaty, tape-covered hands. She nearly didn't catch the water bottle Chief suddenly tossed her way, her arms trembling as she tried to open it. Chief saw her struggling as her arms refused to answer to her. He asked "May I?" and extended his hand.

Enterprise raised a brow, struggling a bit more and grimacing. After a few more seconds of struggling and whining to herself, Enterprise sighed in defeat, bowing her head and handing the Chief the bottle. He removed the cap in two moves and handed it to the girl, who looked up, blushing furiously now that she could pass it off as exhaustion. She took the bottle and barely let out a "Thank you" before gulping it down.

The Chief put on his uniform's shirt, putting the towel into a gym bag he had requisitioned from a nearby shop and took out his own water bottle, taking two big gulps of it, before putting it back into the bag. He slung it over his shoulders, then said to Enterprise "We'll get through the training in no time..." looking to her with reassurance. She sighed, then nodded.

"I'll go get changed... And then we can deal with the paperwork today." She sighed, grabbing her own things off of the table she'd left them on. He nodded, then walked off. Enterprise followed, quickly going to her room and taking her clothes for after she took a shower. She had taken a few moments in her room post-shower to sort some things out for herself. A knock on the door and it opening revealed Belfast.

"Oh, my. You're up early, lady Enterprise." Mused the maid.

Enty pointed in the general direction of the gym, hand still trembling, "Chief had me training again..."

That garnered a smile out of Belfast. "So, the commander is becoming more outgoing?" She asked, sitting herself down next to Enterprise.

"I... Frankly, I think so." Enterprise sat for a moment, thinking about their discussion from last evening. The two had actually agreed on something, for a change and it wasn't something small, either. Plus, he said he'd heed her advice and try to actually connect with everyone. She suppressed a smile and a light blush, thinking about the evening, then answered properly "Actually, yeah, he is. And It'll do us a lot of good."

"Well, that's good. We need him to be more involved, despite it not being that clear..." Belfast mused, arranging her maid's uniform and checking through her pockets for anything she could use to clean around the room. It was awfully dirty, dusty and messy, with Enterprise's gym clothing strewn on the back of her desk's wooden chair. Turning back to Enterprise and locking eyes with her, she added an absentminded "Lady Infinity herself said so."

Enterprise snorted, looking to Belfast. She asked "Infinity thinks Chief should be more outgoing? Where is she right now?" looking over the Maid's clothing. It was as pristine as ever, but the maid herself was... Less than nominal. Her hair was a light mess that the woman worked to rearrange and her eyes had the ever-so-slightest black bags under them. She must've been up all of last evening, comforting people regarding Hood. Enterprise thought it best not to pry in her friend's affairs or ask as to why she didn't sleep...

Belfast ignored the staring for now, finally managing to tie the last tidbit of her hair properly, so it didn't look as much of a mess. Enterprise's suspicions were correct, but she wouldn't tell her anything about having had to stay up all of last evening to comfort Edinburgh, or even Her Highness, who had burst into tears, with Warspite close to falling into that same trap. No, she'd stay quiet. Complaining was unbecoming of a maid. She answered Enterprise's question calmly "Staying with lady Hood and lady Wales. She seems to know a lot about repairs, so she is assisting Vestal."

"That woman's been around Vestal for so long, I'm not surprised." The carrier said, standing up and struggling to arrange her tie. She stared at Bel, leaning against her desk as she worked on the tie without any sort of result, asking "What about her little ones?" as a way to distract from her failure of an attempt to put that damn tie on while her arms were sore as all hell.

"The Strident squadron is engaged in a game with Laffey, Javelin and young Unicorn. At least they were when I last saw them." Belfast said, standing up. She approached Enterprise, giving the woman a once-over and squinting disapprovingly at how creased and almost dirty Enterprise's clothes seemed to be. She hummed, inspecting the tie closer and letting out a chuckle.

"Ah... I should probably head on out too, Belfast. Chief's likely to be waiting for me in the office." Enterprise said, slowly backing away. Belfast was quick to react, smiling as she started arranging Enterprise's tie. Belfast stared up at Enterprise with a smile, letting out a light giggle as a thought about Enterprise and the Chief crossed her mind. The two had butted heads before on certain matters, yet now they seemed to get along.

"Ah, yes, I heard. Congratulations on your new secretary position, lady Enterprise." She started, arranging the tie proper for her friend as a bead of sweat fell off Enty's brow. Belfast continued smartly and dutifully "If you must go, I will clean your room in the meantime. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask either me, or the commander to send for me."

"Right. Thanks, Bel." Enterprise nodded as Bel finished her tie. She took her officer's coat and headed for the door, turning only to say "See ya." to Belfast.

"Be seeing you." Bel responded, taking out a duster. She smirked, looking back to Enterprise as the door opened. "Oh, and lady Enterprise, one more thing..."

"What?" Her friend asked.

"I believe the Eagle Union saying is 'Go get'em, tigress.'" She quipped... And the door slammed shut behind her, urging yet another chuckle out of the Maid. She started dusting the desk, murmuring to herself "Ah, it seems I found a goal." as a vile grin appeared on her face. To be fair, the Chief and Enterprise were fairly alike in behavior, both seemingly careless for their own well-being, both soldiers with years of experience and both must've lost something greatly important to them. Belfast, of course, was not wrong in that. And she was not wrong in thinking... Perhaps the two of them could help each-other heal.

Yes. That seemed to be a good idea.

With cheeks burning red, Enterprise stormed down the hallway toward the stairs, ignoring most everyone in her path as she stomped forward and murmured about Belfast's awful jokes. She and the Chief were running on a strictly officer-subordinate basis and the Chief himself more than likely couldn't be bothered to form a relationship with anyone, doubly so because of his campaign history and the things he must've seen. Someone like that more than likely didn't need a pestering influence like that of another person getting closer to them. She should know, she was in a similar situation.

Enterprise had even managed to ignore(and surprise) Hornet as she stomped up the stairs. The green-eyed Carrier stared, befuddled by her sister's incessant murmurs about relationships as she stormed off toward the Chief's office. Intrepid, who was beside her, smirked, then said "It seems your sister's having a bit of an issue." with Hornet barely able to react.

"I... Guess so...?" The blonde mused. "Let's... Just get to breakfast, shall we, Inty?"

"Sure thing...?"

Enterprise's fuming had slowly gone away, with the Kansen now able to walk at a steady pace instead of half-running. Enough so that the redness in her face had become just a slight tinge of red on her cheeks. Seriously, Belfast had the weirdest sense of humor in the world. And the weirdest timing. It wasn't like Enterprise had any thoughts about the situation at all at first. Not until the woman brought it up. She propped open the door to the Chief's office upon arriving and looked inside, to see Chief sat at his desk.

He was completing a req form. Enty had noticed that as she closed in.

"What's that for?" She had asked, looking between him and the stack on the table and now regretting bringing up Secretary ships. Seriously, if she'd just kept her mouth shut, she would've walked away last evening, able to do whatever she wished... Well, outside of training with the Chief, that was. She had to admit, the idea of training was starting to grow on her for some reason.

"Some sort of specialized coffee called 'Death Wish'." Chief answered absentmindedly, a steaming cup of joe already on his left on a coaster. As he signed the last details on the paper, he set it aside and said "Supposedly, it's 6 times as powerful as regular coffee." as he took a sip from the cup. Enty picked up a barely-noticeable wince as the man drank from a still-hot beverage... Had he actually slept last night? He looked even more tired than her.

There was something slightly more pressing. She voiced her concern by asking "And you think you need that... Why?" as she sat herself down on the couch, looking at the water pitcher and cups, now clean and ready for use. She took the pitcher and poured herself some water, looking around at the expensive furnishings of the office once more. The burning red velvet was a good touch, she had to admit.

Chief once again absentmindedly answered "To stay awake." as he took the next form:A requisition request from Belfast herself, for more specialized cleaning supplies and chemicals. Of course, that made sense. They were running low on those supplies a while ago. Enty dreaded to think how bad the stock must've been right now, but knowing the Maids, they'd manage...

She instead asked again "... Yes, but why?"

"For the sake of completing the paperwork I'm supposed to complete, Enterprise. Even when you're not here." Chief stated bluntly. Enterprise cocked a brow at that, turning to the stack and going wide-eyed.

"That's a_ big_ stack..." The elite kansen murmured, awed.

"Some more req forms, most being from the girls." Chief responded calmly, looking up at her. He arranged his uniform and hat a bit, before checking if his pen still had enough ink and speaking "After we're done with it, we're going to check up on Hood. And after... Well, we're going on a tour of the base, to see what's going on." He received a nod from Enterprise.

"And then it's right back here to complete more paperwork?"

"Mhm."

"I ask again... Why do you need that much coffee? There's two of us completing what you were doing alone now." She leaned into the cough, looking at him. Now that she had time to look at the rugged NCO that had become the base commander. And overall Azur Lane commander, if she thought about it. He was an interesting character and he seemed almost a natural.

"... Truth be told..." He sighed deeply, admitting silently...

Enty couldn't help herself, grinning at the Chief "... You got addicted to the taste, didn't you?"

"I do enjoy it, yes. And I want to see what a more powerful one tastes like." He admitted with little remorse in his voice. Surely, it couldn't be so bad, he must've thought, to be addicted to a liquid that literally boosted man's sleeplessness since time immemorial. She had to admit, hearing that a he, oh-the-ever-stoic who prided himself in his stoicism, enjoyed something, it... Gave him a human feeling. Something Enterprise felt like she'd sorely lacked during her stay.

She snorted, leaning toward the desk "Heh. It sure as hell is gonna taste like regret next morning, when you have to sleep because your body can't function..." and slowly, she felt that good feeling from before fade into worry. "Wait... You need sleep." She started. She was his Secretary Ship. Not by her own volition, but may the Grey Ghost be damned if her Commander was gonna die from sleep deprivation under her watch.

"I'm a Spartan." He answered, turning back to the papers.

"What's that got to do with anything!?" She blurted out, standing up. He couldn't be serious.

"Metabolism."

Oh, dear God, he _was._ She barked "THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER!" in befuddlement.

"Just take a pen and get to work."

Enterprise sighed, planting a palm on her face. She took the pen Chief extended toward her and half the stack, getting to reading and signing the papers. She hummed. The man was still a human, so he clearly needed to sleep and, well. He could joke if and when he wanted to. Add to this, he was being very stubborn right now... She felt a growing sense of kinship with the seven-foot-tall supersoldier sitting at the desk. Even though she'd never admit her own stubbornness to anyone's face.

... Hmm. Maybe running as a Secretary for a while wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

The Sakura Empire port, located fairly close to the Home Islands and deep within the Pacific territories of the Crimson Axis, was a mix of ancient Japanese architecture. Built like ancient temples and lined with cherry trees, the buildings of the port were a hive of activity where forces from all of the Crimson Axis could engage in small-talk and enjoy themselves. Places such as Akashi's shop sold items... At an exorbitant sum, in Akashi's case, of course...

Walking with Prinz Eugen beside her, a day after the latest engagement, Bismarck had been processing what she had done. She had purposefully missed... She had purposefully missed Hood's heart, or whatever stood for it. She didn't know why, nor how, but staring at the damaged Battle Cruiser that was once an ally she had worked proudly with, something felt awfully wrong in both her mind and heart.

Nightmares of Suffolk's screaming haunted Bismarck still. Perhaps that was also a reason?

"Bismarck."

The sharp voice of one of the Fox Sisters took Bismarck's attention to her. Carrier Divisions One and Five, more specifically, aforementioned Akagi, her sister Kaga and of course, the crane sisters, Shoukaku and Zuikaku, had met with her and Prinz mid-walk. Bismarck had wanted to clear her mind. An interaction with the pairs of sisters was the last thing she needed right now.

The Battleship shifted uneasily on the spot, rubbing her arm as she spoke softly, "Akagi, Kaga, Shoukaku, Zuikaku. Good to see you." and arranged her hat on top of her head. She'd been through quite enough today without these four talking down to her. The Sakura always thought themselves above everyone else... Although the Ironblood could understand that, at least they had a reason to think so.

"Likewise." The brown-haired sword-wielding carrier nodded to Bismarck, smiling. "We hear your mission in the North went well." She offered. Well, some were considering themselves superior. Zuikaku could be exempt from that rule for the sheer fact she trained to be powerful. Her skills with a blade were nigh-unmatched, save perhaps for miss Takao and her swordsmanship. Huh, funny. Bismarck wondered for but a moment why Takao came to mind.

"Yes. Lord Bismarck managed to incapacitate Hood, miss Zuikaku." Prinz intervened quickly, noticing that her Lord had taken a few moments to respond. She was bearing her trademark sultry smile as she stepped up to the girls. Bismarck had to remind herself to thank her friend for that timely intervention. Today seemed to drag on again, every second feeling like an agonizing minute...

"Incapacitate? My goodness, we heard you'd killed her." Akagi seemed to scoff at what felt like both a failure and relief to Bismarck. Failure because Hood _was _supposed to have died by her hand so the Sirens could say she'd completed her task, but relief, because she could see the Kitsune glare at her. And knowing she disappointed somebody as insolent as Akagi felt good to her, because she didn't care what Akagi thought.

"Hmm, contradicting intel... We'll know if she comes back to the field or not." Her aide intervened again, glaring at the carrier with malicious intent, seemingly defensive of her Lord as usual. Again, Bismarck thanked Gott she had someone as trustworthy as Prinz beside her. Kaga seemed to notice the uneasiness between both camps. If anyone could say anything about the White Fox, it was that she was somewhat more gracious than her sister.

"I see. Well, well done anyways. That is sure to be a morale-breaker for the Azur Lane." She started from beside Akagi, who looked to her with a hint of surprise at the attempted defusal. Bismarck gave the carrier a small smile, which Kaga simply responded to with the lightest tilt of her head. Peace was an option that remained in the air for both camps still...

"Indeed. The Mighty Hood herself, out of action. It surely must've broken their spirits." The second Crane sister mused, smiling at the Battleship with an air of welcoming... And one of murderous intent, but not toward her per se. Shoukaku had been known to have this sort of aura about her. She was, after all, one of the Sakura's finest carriers, even if she was young.

"Mhm..." Bismarck blinked, a slight headache coming to her.

"Are you well, Bismarck? You look... Off." The White Fox asked, noticing the uneasiness with which Bismarck had started to move.

"I've had a long few days, Kaga. That's all." She answered, arranging her hat as to block out the sun that now tried to poke into her retinas. "I'm fairly tired."

"I see. Miss Takao said she's preparing lunch back at your dorm, so if you wish to go ahead and join her, we can speak with Prinz." The woman responded, trying to assist Bismarck to disengage from the conversation, despite a couple of odd glares from Akagi. Her sister could wait. An ally of theirs was in pain, clearly. And she was one of their strongest allies, trying to withstand it. Kaga appreciated strength... So she figured she'd do a favor to the Battleship.

"Go. I have them. _Schonen Tag, herr._" Prinz had noticed Bismarck's eyes widening and motioned with her head toward the dorms, a more calm, friendly smile on her face instead of her false one. Bismarck nodded to the group, offering a silent thanks to her aide and the more gentle of the two Foxes as she walked away, to the dormitories where she and the rest of the Iron Blood Pacific Fleet had been bunked.

Entering her dorm room, to the scent of spicy curry and rice being cooked on the stove just in the kitchen of the place. The Battleship set her hat onto the hanger, where several more, mixed articles of clothing resided, then took off her shoes and entered the kitchen, to see Takao stirring in the pots of boiling food. Clad in her uniform, but lacking the sword, rigging and her shoes, Takao worked tirelessly.

The woman's animal ears-Bismarck couldn't, for the life of her, tell what they were-perked up as she heard the footsteps of the Battleship. Takao's amber eyes met Bismarck's blue ones and she offered her bunkmate and friend a welcoming smile. Softly, the cook spoke "So, you're back. Rumor has it you've dealt quite the blow to the enemy, Bismarck. Well done."

"Thanks..." The Kansen sighed, sitting herself down at the short table and leaning back, letting the fresh, spicy smell of the food come to her. She stared up at the ceiling, idly looking at the lamp-like chandelier overhead. Above her, Takao soon appeared, two plates of food and two sets of chopsticks in her hands. Bismarck nodded, watching as the woman went opposite of her and set the food down.

"So..." She started as she sat down "Do you wish to talk about the mission? I've heard a few conflicting rumors."

"I... Just barely left a meeting where I was getting interrogated about it, Takao... I don't think I want to talk about it that much right now." Bismarck explained, looking at the plate of food set beside her. It was piled high with rice and curry, of course. A Sakura variation thereof, of course, since they were fairly close to their Home Islands. She had to assume that their food was quite more accessible than anything from her homeland... Less she put a requisition form in for some German chocolate.

"Ah, very well..." Takao said, pouring the two of them cups of green tea. She looked up from her task for but a moment to say to Bismarck "I could see it in your eyes, you know?" with all the care of a friend looking after her own. Takao had a way with words at times, one that Atago and her... _Smothering personality... _Sometimes lacked. Where Atago was blunt and uhm... Yes... Takao was tactful, smart and knew what to say... Bismarck had a feeling that was what was coming.

So she played along, quirking a brow at her bunkmate's words "What?"

"You're tired." She observed quite easily, putting the teapot down and picking up the cup. She blew on the steaming liquid, to cool it down, then took a deep, long sip as she waited for Bismarck's response. It was quite odd, how calm Takao seemed to be, talking to Bismarck. Even though the girls had not known each other for long, or, better said, they have barely talked to each-other, save for a few fairly separate times, she acted with Bismarck like one would act with an old friend...

"Understatement..." The Battleship murmured, looking at the food in her plate again.

"I meant more than just physically. Something stirs within you and I think it has to do with all the operations you've been undertaking lately." Takao set her cup down and leaned onto one hand, staring at Bismarck with her piercing amber eyes. It had been a while since the Kansen were fully able to look at each-other. Bismarck snorted, fondly recalling that one time Takao burst in in her sleepwear and with her sword in hand. Then she turned thoughtful.

"Hm..." She sighed. The road since the Schism had been long and brutal for both sides involved. At first, all camps fought a common foe, one that threatened Mankind with everything they had. Now... Now, Bismarck worked with one of these foes, one who said there was a certain destiny they had to accomplish for mankind to be saved, for her own means. She wanted Tirpitz home... She wanted the sister she had never seen, nor met, back. Her only family...

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't need to." Takao offered.

"Not right now... Perhaps when I finish what I want to finish. To be finally free of the tasks."

"Very well... Until then, just know that if you need someone to talk to, Bismarck, you have me and a few others in the Sakura fleet. Perhaps not Akagi, but..." She motioned to the rest of the Dorm and to the people outside. And of course, she had Prinz, she had her comrades in the Iron Blood Navy. She had a lot of people to talk to, but non that she _could _tell... Save for Akagi herself.

So she did the best she could to ease Takao. She thanked her "Thank you... For the offer."

"'Tis what allies should do." Takao smiled.

"Mm..." Was Bismarck's response.

"Now. Get to eating. It's gonna go cold."

"... I was going to ask if I could get a fork and knife, but I am gonna guess that's out of the question?"

"You're in a Sakura port, eating Sakura food, Lord Bismarck..." "If you want a fork, you should have brought one from your own home. However, if you do find it too challenging to eat with the proper utensils, I can just feed you... You know, like a mother feeds its child?" Takao mocked, smirking at the Battleship. A Heavy Cruiser and a joker beside.

"Hah... Very well, Takao, I accept your challenge. What is it you Japanese say?" Bismarck grinned.

"_Itadakimasu."_ Pridefully did Takao speak her home language.

"I can't pronounce that... Oh well, German it is... _Gutten appetit._" Bismarck raised her glass of lukewarm tea, taking one sip and turning to her food...


	18. Remember the Faces

The Spartan and Enterprise walked to Vestal's place. The room was lined with medical supplies and other items of interest, surprisingly to the Chief, including Biofoam cans. Giggling, however, being a sound they heard was not what they expected. Gazing over to the table where, unsurprisingly enough, Hood now rested, they found Wales and the aforementioned Battleship, the hole in her stomach and back now covered by bandages, exchanging small-talk. Enterprise faintly smiled, managing to hide it from the Chief, before the two approached.

"... You wouldn't believe the things she's done..." The blonde Hood explained to her friend with a gleeful smile. She cocked her head toward the footsteps that echoed on the wood floor and gave the two new arrivals a smile. And, upon noticing Chief's uniform, she gave a snappy salute and spoke "Oh, the Commander. Forgive me, sir, but I cannot stand up quite yet on orders of miss Vestal."

"Ah, Chief. Good to see you." Wales nodded to Chief, her smile back on her lips as she stood up to greet them. "And miss Enterprise. I hear you took over my position as secretary for the duration of my stay with Lady Hood." She quirked a brow at Enterprise. Indeed, Wales had heard clearly of Enterprise's little takeover thanks to Hood's incapacitation necessitating Wales's presence.

"Wasn't exactly much choice left, Wales. I'm happy to see you're both fine, though." Enterprise returned, giving both of them a nod.

"I am. Lady Hood has taken quite the beating, lest we forget." The Royal Navy secretary quipped, looking back to her old friend and arranging her clothing. Hood herself was still wearing part of her clothing. More specifically, she had her blue Union Jack coat over her as to hide at least part of her wound. Chief didn't admit it, but he was thankful that the Kansen was okay... At least as okay as she seemed.

"Oh, come off it, Wales." Hood waved dismissively "I'm fine. Good to meet you, Commander... I do believe we've only seen each-other once, maybe twice?"

"I think so. A pleasure to make your formal acquaintance, though, miss Hood. We have a few things to talk about." The Spartan tipped his hat to the lady. Of course, her little action of going behind his back and not even reporting her mission before heading out to fight. He'd have liked to know, at the very least, what had happened that caused Hood's desire to hunt Bismarck like that.

"... Oh, are you here to berate me for my foolishness, sir? My, how quaint." The Battle Cruiser Kansen, Chief had to admit, was a bit cheeky. Though that was commonplace for most British people and their colonial possessions in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Although, admittedly, Britain didn't have nearly that same amount of colonies in the 21st as they did in the 20th... Still.

"She's got you pegged there, Chief." The Carrier present said in almost an involuntary deadpan, looking back at their CO, with a raised brow almost asking what he would answer to that little provocation.

"Hmm. More-so here to ask what occurred between you and Bismarck... But, if we're interrupting something?" The Spartan deflected the little quip, instead eyeing a pot of flowers and a box of chocolates brought by Wales, going by the British brand name of the latter. Ah, so they were fairly close friends, then.

"Ah, that. No, Master Chief, it is only nominal that some sort of gift be brought to the ailing by their friends and family, to lighten the weight of their wounds if even a little. An act which I deeply appreciate." Hood returned, smiling as she saw Wales' face turn red as a tomato. Enterprise concealed a grin behind a thinking woman's pose, watching the interaction unfold.

"I see." The Spartan shot a look toward the white-haired carrier Kansen beside him.

"Anyways. If you wish to debrief me on Bismarck, can it please wait until I am out of bed? Until then, you and Enterprise are more than welcome to join us for a cup of tea." The Pride of the Navy offered, a smile on her face. Another maid of the corps, this one wearing round, thin-rimmed glasses, approached with a tray of tea and sugars. Almost tripping while at it, oddly enough.

"I wonder how Queen Elizabeth would react to him... They've yet to meet too." The woman noted, taking her cup and nodding in thanks to the maid. She took a long sip.

"Oh, her reaction would be quite endearing." Her blonde friend chuckled, taking her own cup and speaking to the girl "Thanks, dear Edinburgh. You're dismissed." with the maid bowing out and leaving out the back door after giving a quick salute to the Chief.

The USN Carrier present smirked, jabbing a thumb back as she asked "Want me to give Queen Liz a call?"

"No, I think Her Majesty is busy right now... Anyways, I'm happy you came to check on me, Commander. I hoped we would meet under better circumstances, but alas..." The blonde shrugged "I'll ask Wales to compile information as to what happened between me and Bismarck and hand it to you, but for now. I am sorry about the fact that I attacked with little information or backup. I know I acted out of order and fully expect punishment."

"Let's just say that the wounds Bismarck left on you are enough punishment for now. However... Next time, do warn me of your plans. I'm meant to be the commander, after all." The Spartan added, slightly bemused. He nodded to Enterprise, then said "Let's move. We still have paperwork to deal with. And Blue Team. I have to assign them work here."

"Right. I'll get to the paperwork, you go find them." Enty nodded, before turning to Wales and Hood and saying "Goodbye, ladies. Take care, Hood. Don't strain yourself."

"I could say the same to you, lady Enterprise." The blonde quipped again, then mouthed to a confused Enty in a tease '_Belfast told me about you two'_ urging a blush out of the white-haired soldier-girl. She and Wales chuckled at the reaction while the Spartan stared on, confused. He tipped his hat to them, then walked out with Enterprise tailing him... Before she stormed off to the office.

Chief raised a brow, then murmured "What is going on with her now...?" to himself, walking off in the opposite direction.

Blue Team, meanwhile, was strolling on the promenade of the base, watching as the figures of UNSC Strident warships floated overhead, unmanned, with three dozen other wet navy ships below in drydocks, being tended to by a strange slew of both women and animals. On the beach, younger girls played with volley-balls, talked, exchanged food and even ran marathons, as was the case with one orange-haired girl.

Said girl passed by Blue Team, giving a salute to them and a boyish grin. Fred and the others saluted back, dumbfound... And Kelly was the first to voice their exact thoughts:"Ship girls. What sort of loopy land have we gotten dropped into?"

"Going by the fact we're alive and well, probably not just a really bad fever dream." Linda noted, eyeing some of the kansen out at sea, training. The faint thunder of heavy cannons echoed all the way to them. The redhead sniper then murmured "Doesn't help that they can actually fight properly."

"The UNSC techs aboard the Infinity would be spooked to see all of this." Fred added "Hell, I'm pretty sure Roland wouldn't know what to make of this."

"Oh, he doesn't." A female voice came from behind them, making all four of them jump and go for their sidearms. They swiveled about and saw Infinity, arms crossed to her chest and a grin on her face. She nodded "Hey, Blues. Taking in the sights?"

"Yeah... Do you do that often, Infinity?" Kelly asked.

"What, sneak up on people? Yeah, it's kinda my shtick." She smirked "Being a few hundred million metric tonnes makes it all the more fun when people don't hear me approaching."

"We should've heard you, at least." Linda murmured "What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Vestal?"

"Oh, I was just about to head for Chief's office. Let him know I'm fully repaired." The girl proclaimed, a grin on her face "It took Vestal a lot of time and a lot of the assigned cash to get Titanium Alloy plating for my armor, but hey, she freakin' did it. Now, we just need to secure a fuel supply for me and my girls and we're set to go."

Kelly hummed "Gonna take a while to get Deuterium, Infinity."

"Oh, we know." She smirked "I think Chief's already making plans for it, though."

Linda looked to the other two Spartans, then said with melancholy in her voice and with a smile behind her helmet "If we know John..." words to which the other two nodded in agreement. Chief had been Squad Lead since their earliest days. If anyone knew what to do in this situation, it was him, both thanks to the experience with the Azur Lane and his command abilities as a whole.

"Alright. Well, see you folks later... And remember, don't be strangers!" Infinity winked, walking away.

The three Spartans looked at one another, still confused over _everything_ going on around them. Alas...

"Wait, she has Roland!?" All three Spartans said in unison.

* * *

Enterprise marched forward, down the corridors yet again, being greeted by a few other ships from both the Royal Navy and the Eagle Union. Passing her was the lead of the Essex-class, Essex herself. Said purple-haired Essex ground to a halt, noticing Enterprise. The person beside her, that being Hornet, stopped too, noticing Enty yet again, storming off annoyed at something.

"T-That..." Essex's face burned a bright scarlet, while Hornet stared at her with a raised brow. Essex slowly gathered her wits as Hornet's sister vanished up the stairs, then cried out "_THAT WAS ENTERPRISE! _THE GREY GHOST!"

"oh no..." murmured Hornet, planting a palm on her face "Not a fan..."

"She's my idol! Oh, I have to go say hi to-" Just as Essex prepared to dash off, Hornet grabbed her by the collar and dragged her off.

"She probably has enough to deal with, Essex. She's a secretary." Hornet murmured. She'd have let the girl go bother Enterprise, but right now, the woman was almost untouchable, being secretary and whatnot. Despite Essex's protests and her own mind telling her better, Hornet dragged her out of the corridor, toward the medical wing so she could meet some of the new frigates. Hornet swore to herself. Her sister failed once. She wasn't gonna let her fail the Yorktown name again.

Enterprise stormed up the stairs and into the office, before plopping herself down onto the couch and covering her face with her hands. She groaned, then said to herself "Why the hell does everyone keep saying stuff about me and the Chief...? It isn't happening." her voice muffled by her palms. She let her arms droop, leaning her head back onto the couch and staring up at the ceiling. Hell, why was everyone jabbing at this stuff about him and her? They were workmates and that was about it. The girls should've been more focused on saving the world from the Siren and the Axis.

She sighed, shaking her head and turning toward the paperwork left on the desk. Taking a pen, she started working on the stack. Req forms, base reports and everything, all neatly folded into one massive stack for Enty to sort through. It'd at least get her mind off of things. She felt a pang of hunger, so she went for one of her coat's pockets, pulling out an MRE chocolate bar. She unwrapped it and started munching as she did the work.

She only stopped chewing-and almost stopped breathing-as she saw a special req form. It was signed by Vestal.

_"Requesting special medical and technological assistance for Yorktown in the form of experimental resources made for Kansen." _She read only the first line of the paragraph before she felt a tear streak down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away with her sleeve, then continued reading in her mind _"Experimental nanomedication developed for modification of Kansen bio-mechanical activity could possibly reverse the effects of the damage caused by the battle against the Siren code-named 'Observer'. Suggest immediate delivery. Situation between Yorktown's younger sisters is... Untenable, at least currently... Only been worsening since Wasp's untimely-" _She cut off the reading as she heard footsteps.

The door opened and Sheffield marched inside. The young spy-maid saluted Enterprise, who stood up and saluted back, stifling a few more tears. Despite noticing Enterprise being less than optimal, Sheffield chose not to pry, instead saying "Sorry for bothering you, lady Enterprise, but I have orders from the Commander. Top secret folder, probably within the stack you're working on. It has data on my mission."

Enterprise looked over to it, to see the paper package stamped with the 'Top Secret' in bold red letters on top and sealed tightly. She nodded to the maid, waving her over and picking up the item, before she extended it to her. The maid approached, taking the communique in her gloved hands, before bowing and excusing herself from the room. The door shut and Enterprise was once again left with her thoughts and with the document in her hand. She sighed, setting it on the table, before signing it and putting it separate from the normal Req forms. It was a special request after all.

Chief would need to see it... Meanwhile, she should probably go to talk to her sister.

... Speaking of, the Chief had just caught up with Blue Team by the beach, only to spot them observing the volleyball game between the Destroyers and the Strident sisters. Thanks to the lack of armor, the Destroyers were proving to be far more agile in this case. That and the Stridents were playing fair, not using their armor's full capabilities, such as the thrusters they had on their backs.

"Enjoying the show?" Chief asked as he stepped up between them.

"Ah, John. Just in time." Fred smirked. John had now noticed the man's helmet was off his head.

He hummed, then asked "Who's winning?"

"Stridents are up 3-1 so far." Kelly explained, crossing her arms "But I'm bettin' the bunny girl is gonna pull some kinda trick."

"Laffey's known for that, yeah." John hummed.

"My money's staying on the Stridents." Linda quipped. She looked over to John and asked "How're Hood and Wales?"

"Wales seems to be much better... Hood's able to talk, but she'll be in sickbay for a while." John explained "How're you four adjusting?"

"We aren't." Fred snorted "I'm still thinking this is some kind of fever dream."

"Same." Linda and Kelly chorused. But Kelly continued "So far, though, pinching doesn't work." With a grin. John nodded, ever stoic, before Kelly asked "You alright, Chief?"

"I'm commanding all of this." he sighed, "You think you're out of your depths."

Fred hummed, then turned to John and responded "You've been doing fine so far, at least as far as Sheffield explained to us. She reminds me a bit of ONI." before turning to see Laffey, indeed, 'powering on' and scoring their second point. He chuckled "Hey, Linda, still betting on the Stridents?" before getting a hum out of the Sniper girl. John watched the match silently, before noticing the crowd of ships on the balcony to the right.

"What's the status on your own Deuterium?" Chief asked them.

Fred answered "Varying between us. I think the fact that we dropped in together kind of nullified some of the effect. Me and Linda are at 34 and 32 percent respectively. Kells is at 25%, but mostly 'cause she wanted to run a lap around the base once. She's knocked it off, though." to which the fastest of the team shrugged. Sure, Kelly was fast enough that the armor's fuel cell probably didn't dip as bad as his.

"Presume someone told you about my armor?" He asked.

Linda nodded "Belfast."

"Ah." Chief nodded. Of course she would've. They watched the match unfold further, before two pairs of foot-steps, ones heavy as armor and others, light and dainty, took their attention away. Belfast and Infinity ran up to them, the latter panting as she felt the weight of her own kit lay on her. Belfast gave the Chief a look of concern. Through the panting, the woman pointed in the direction of the mess hall.

"Rest, you two. What happened?" He asked sternly.

"Enterprise..." Infinity coughed.

"Lady Enterprise and Lady Hornet entered an altercation... Enterprise was trying to talk to her sister." Belfast spoke between shallow breaths "Please... You need to stop them... Before one of them kills the other..."

Chief and his team looked between one-another with concern. The trio put their helmets on, just in case, before they and the Chief dashed off to the mess hall. If this was what Chief thought it was, there was gonna be _hell. _For both of them. He quickened his pace, hearing a few other Kansen trailing them as the news probably spread around the base. He expected a massive crowd gathered. God dammit, Hornet...

God dammit, Enterprise... Hang in there.


	19. Final Countdown

The Sakura port was as lively as ever with the combined arms of the two member camps. Right now, however, they were expecting their third party member for the war in the Pacific. And far in the distance, Bismarck could make out the figures of their newly-founded ally's fleet. Clad in the clothes of a pirate and heading the formation, Jean Bart moved almost robotically forward, her face impassive. Her scarlet eyes caught a beat of the head of the Iron Blood fleet and she hummed.

As they reached port, the girls let their rigging return to the form of hulls, while they stepped onto the pier itself. Jean Bart led the way with her Vichya comrades trailing close behind. Bismarck descended to greet their new arrivals, being the elected greeter, with Akagi and Kaga only present 'in spirit', so to speak. The deep thrum of drums echoed overhead, followed by the thunder of brass instruments, playing a famed march of a fictional Empire. Bismarck rolled her eyes at the antics of the sixth Destroyer Squadron (Z10 needed to get her head set on straight) and she marched to greet Jean.

"Battleship Jean Bart." Bismarck extended her hand.

"KMS Bismarck." Nodded Jean respectfully, gripping the hand tightly and shaking, "I hear you nearly killed Hood."

"Yes. You can ask my comrades about it... I've recalled the tale one too many times at this point." The Kriegsmarine commander sighed. She got a nod from Jean, then the two turned toward the stairs, walking with their flags raised just as the crescendo of the song hit. Bismarck murmured to herself "Those girls really need to stop watching those damn movies..."

Dunkerque snorted at the antics of the young destroyers, adding "I find it endearing, though this would fit more for a Royal Navy delegation than us."

"Mmm." The two leading Kansen nodded. They continued up to the main buildings, being greeted by both the Sakura and the Iron Blood girls with waves and smiles. Some girls were chuckling as the song finally faded, ending, while Bismarck and Jean marched on toward the center of the port. Jean was meant to present herself to the head of the Crimson Axis and commander of Sakura, Nagato.

Jean showed the others to stay behind, opting to go with just Bismarck by her side. Dunkerque and the others simply nodded, stopping to interact with their new comrades as their leader continued down the path. Bismarck looked like she'd seen better days. Hell, last Jean Bart saw her, she had been fighting in the Atlantic. Why she chose to be transferred to the Pacific, Jean didn't know.

Reaching the bridge to the massive Sakura tree in the center of the port, Bismarck stopped. She looked to the girl and said "This is my stop, Jean. If you need to find me, I'll be in the dorms, trying to..." She hesitated, then sighed and spoke "Trying to get my mind off of things." before walking away without another explanation. Iron Blood ships had feelings? Jean wondered. She squelched the thought, then walked across.

Bismarck returned to the dormitories, only to find Takao and Atago engaged in a discussion at one of their tables. The former was sharpening her sword, while the latter listened intently to her sister's talk of the code of honor they were bound to follow. She looked to the door, to see Kaga with a frightful look o nher face. Turning, the woman raised a brow at the First Carrier Division's 2iC.

"We've got news from the Northern Atlantic..."

Having been taken to the communications center, Bismarck now stood with Akagi, Kaga, Soryuu, Hiryuu, Zuikaku and Shoukaku around the central holographic table. A scarlet string of lights formed into the shape of the local terrain, it showed the location and status of the Northern Atlantic Fleet of the Crimson Axis, the one under command of Graf Zeppelin. They were being followed and had been engaged by...

"No..." Bismarck murmured to herself, eyes wide.

... Up in the Northern Atlantic, Graf found herself in the need to dodge a hammer of High-Explosive artillery landing around her and her compatriots, among which were now the IJN Battleship Kii and several Japanese destroyers. She swore to herself in German, then swiveled about and launched an air assault wing. Bombers, since fighters would be useless here.

Yet, just as fast as she had launched them, anti-air guns roared, sending the burning wrecks plummeting into the icy waters of the far north. Now peering over the horizon, a pair of scarlet eyes glared at the Iron Blood and Sakura forces. Dressed in a white parade uniform, with a cape of white fur, long black leather gloves, a cane with an ice-blue star-shaped crystal in her hand and with long hair white as the snow of Siberia flowing, the Northern Parliament's only successful experimental summoning trained her ice-covered cannons on the enemy fleet.

"_Tavarische!_ Waste these Iron Blood dogs and their Sakura pets! FOR OUR SISTERS IN THE FIRST FLEET!" She called out to the other ships around her with a thick Russian accent, among which one had appeared over the horizon, face flushed, scarlet eyes glaring at the enemy and a murderous grin. A dozen more ships of the fleet appeared, cannons tracking them. _Sovetskaya Rossiya, _the new Flagship of the Northern Parliament, made it her mission:no prisoners... Vengeance for their fallen sisters was at their fingertips!

"_URA!" _Cried the dozen elite ships present. Sovetskaya's guns sent the first volley of the engagement. Nine shells left the barrels of the Battleship's rigging, arching high and detonating around the beleaguered Iron Blood forces that had not too long ago been on the opposite side, delivering similar punishment to the Parliament's sisters in arms. Sovetskaya withdrew from the sheath of the cane a broadsword, pointing it forward.

About two dozen destroyers, led by the young Grozny, charged forth, their torpedo tubes aimed toward Hipper and their Axis counterparts. Almost a hundred torpedoes took to the water, driven by hatred and a thirst for vengeance. In the front, the second red-eyed ship of the fleet, _Gangut, _surged forward with murder in her eyes, charging alongside the torpedoes right toward Hipper.

The Cruiser kansen barely had enough time to turn and see her imminent doom, before Gangut said with a deranged smile and giggle "Privyet, comrade Hipper...!" and grabbed her by the throat and rammed her right into the side of a glacier, hard enough to crack it in twain down the center. She turned about, her guns tracking two destroyers of Sakura making. She let loose a volley from two of her main guns and the rounds slammed into them like hammers.

The sickle to this hammer was the destroyers, which turned to engage Graf. Grozny, despite being five feet and seven inches, was filled with disdain for the IB carrier. Enough so that, the moment her torpedo tubes had torpedoes in them again, she made sure to fire them right toward Graf Zeppelin. Following the destroyers in, Chapayev and Minsk seemed just as ready to tear the enemy's throats out, focusing on Kii.

"This isn't good!" Kii yelled to Graf as she bobbed and weaved past shells and torpedoes, "We need to pull out!"

"They'll pursue us to the other end of the earth." Graf growled.

"I'd rather they do and get tired! Today isn't a good day to die, Graf! We need to move!" The Japanese battleship called out "There's a time to fight and a time to retreat! This is the latter! C'mon!"

Graf growled, glaring at the advancing fleet, then she nodded. A chill shot up her spine, the first she'd felt in a while, at that very moment. She looked up as she heard a whistling...

* * *

Enty peeked through the half-opened door of the office. Content with the fact nobody was there, the girl propped the door open and walked out, feeling her heart start beating faster and faster. She was just gonna go talk to her sister. She needed to calm down, since this couldn't be any different than going to war. Hell, for all intents and purposes, it should've been easier.

She walked down the halls, looking around for anyone to ask for directions as to where Hornet could've gone. She'd seen her here with Essex when she stormed past. She continued forth, looking around for anyone, passing the main entrance and the dorms of the destroyers, before stopping as she caught a glimpse of Bel. She waved at the maid, before walking toward her.

"Ah, lady Enterprise." Beamed the Cruiser "Anything I can help you with?"

"You see which way..." She cut herself off, realizing that Belfast was one of the few people who knew about her and Hornet's somewhat delicate relationship, before asking "Which way Essex went? I heard she wants to talk to me about something."

Bel winced "Are you certain you want to talk to her? I..."

Enterprise nodded, partially aware of some of Essex's antics from beforehand. Belfast sighed, then jabbed a gloved finger back and said "She was with Hornet over in the mess hall." And that caught a smile out of Enty. With a pat on the shoulder, Enteprise walked off before Bel could warn her not to. Sighing, Belfast rubbed her eyes and followed. A light thunk on her right alerted her. And she smiled "Greetings, miss Infinity."

"Aww!" Infinity sounded disappointed. She stepped up beside Belfast, crossing her arms, then said "No fair." with a pout. Belfast chuckled, patting the girl on the head.

"There, there, Infinity. All of us slip up at some point." Bel quipped, then asked "Care to join me for lunch?"

A groan from Infinity's stomach was all the answer Bel needed. She didn't exactly need a reason to make sure that Enterprise wasn't doing something stupid-she already knew the girl was doing it-but she needed backup in case they needed to intervene. Who better than a starship with heavier guns than everyone put together? She chuckled, leading the space kansen forward.

In the occupied mess hall, Enterprise made her way through the crowds of ships to the front of the line, catching a glimpse of Hornet's black and yellow clothing, as well as Essex's blue 'uniform'. She felt her heart beating in her throat and her palms grew sweaty. She swallowed empty, approaching her sister. She said "Hey, girls... Nice to see you again, Essex. Could you give me a minute with Hornet, please?"

The blushing girl nodded rapidly to Enty, smiling as she sidestepped toward one of the tables. Hornet rolled her eyes, having wanted to stop the girl, but what could one do to a fangirl? She sighed, then said in the most impassive, careless voice she could muster "What is it, Enterprise?" as her sister sat there, slightly taken aback by the coldness with which the blonde had addressed her.

"Can we talk, please?" The girl pleaded.

Hornet looked her dead in the eyes and said "We've got nothing to talk about." before stepping forward to the buffet. Enterprise followed.

"Why? Hornet, you're my sister, we need to be able to talk things out..." The white-haired Kansen practically begged.

Hornet's motions were restrained. She seemed to be working hard to not do something she'd regret as she put food on her platter. Without even looking at Enty, she said "_We _lost that privilege a while ago, Enterprise." and she walked toward the table where Essex was. Enterprise grabbed her by the arm, stopping her and pleading with her eyes. Hornet yanked her hand free, nearly knocking down her drink and walking forward.

"Hornet, I have the right to ask you what the hell's gotten into you... Talk to me." Enterprise damn near demanded, stopping right in front of the table and slamming her hands onto it, her voice cracking.

"Let me eat in peace..." Sighed Hornet, opening a cup of pudding. Enterprise saw people staring, Essex included, but she didn't care.

She leaned partially onto the table, then demanded again "God dammit, Hornet, talk to me. I'm begging you here." in a whisper "I want to fix whatever this is..."

"If you don't know what it is, there's nothing to fix, is there?" Hornet replied lackadaisically, dipping a plastic spoon into the chocolate pudding and taking a spoonful. She still stared down at her food, avoiding eye contact with Enterprise as best as she could. She spoke in a deadpan "Why are you here anyways? You have your rations in your room, right?" and Enterprise doubled over as if she'd been punched in the gut.

Essex winced and whispered "Hornet, isn't that a bit harsh...?"

"It's fine, Essex." Hornet shot back, looking at her with the most dead pair of eyes Essex had ever seen in a kansen, "She's too high and mighty to eat with the rest of us, anyways. The Grey Ghost's a loner."

One could swear they saw tears forming in the corner's of Enty's eyes. The Kansen sighed, shaking her head, then murmured "Fine," with a crack of her voice, "Ignore me all you want... This wasn't even worth the goddamn effort." before she turned to leave, "I should've ducked back in my hole and shut the fuck up, since my little sis can't listen worth shit... Just like always."

Hornet scowled, having taken offense to that. She set her cup of pudding down, wrapped her hands around the tray and..."Hornet, what are you...?" Essex started, only to stop, eyes widening to saucers as the woman slammed the metal tray into the back of Enterprise's head, knocking her hat off the top of her head and garnering gasps out of the entire group of Kansen in the mess hall, stopping every background conversation around with a loud _**clang**_. Enterprise staggered, feeling the back of her head. Hornet bared her teeth, glaring at Enterprise until the Grey Ghost shot a glare her sister's way that felt like it could sink a battleship. Two empty, lilac eyes stared at the blonde Yorktown sister, not with hatred, but with disappointment.

Hornet stammered, afraid, "Y-You take that back..."

"Make me." Enterprise shot back, her voice cold as ice. Hornet growled, then roared and tried to bring the tray back down on top of Enty's head, but the girl bobbed to the right, grabbing Hornet's right wrist and pulling her right into a balled fist. The punch connected with Hornet's gut, staggering the girl and forcing her to drop the tray. She stared at Enterprise... No, at the _Grey Ghost, _whose eyes were filled with anger. The punch was, however, 'weak'.

She was holding back?

"Alright..." Hornet growled, "Is this what we've come to?"

"I would've walked away... You threw the alpha strike." Enty glared, her voice still cold as ice.

Hornet chuckled sadly "Well, someone had to."

"What the hell happened, Hornet? We used to be thick as thieves... All of us." Enterprise asked, trying to act friendly despite instinctively falling into a stance Chief had taught her.

Hornet puffed a bit of hair off her eye, then said "You know what happened, Enty... You know very well what fucking happened!"

"No... No I don't..." She shot back, before pouncing.

Hornet roared, charging the girl with a less 'developed' form, but the bellow of one powerful voice, followed by weapons being racked, tore them both out of it. The voice, that of the Chief's, called out "_BOTH OF YOU, STAND **DOWN!" **_staggering both girls like a riptide slamming against a Destroyer. Their fists stopped inches from the other's face, both turning to see Belfast, Infinity and Blue Team, with Chief in the center of the formation, wearing the scariest scowl the two girls had ever seen him wear. They fell in formation, ramrod straight out of fear and with both their faces drained of color.

Enterprise had never heard Chief holler like that. And she, like most of the ships around, had never seen him wearing that kind of titanium glare. Enterprise felt like ducking out and cowering away under their Commander's whittling gaze, while Hornet felt like she'd made the biggest fuckup of her entire career. Both opened their mouths to speak, but the Chief barked again "**QUIET!**" forcing their mouths shut by sheer presence.

He looked between the two of them, then said "I want to know what happened here... Every single detail." and his gaze swept over to Essex, who was drained of all color as she stared the officer in the eyes. He spoke to her "CV-9, USS Essex. Give me a rundown of what has happened here so I have something to cross-reference when I ask our two perpetrators about it. And tell me everything you saw... Unless you want to join them."

"S-Sir!" She jumped to her feet, voice high-pitched, "Enterprise entered the room to engage in small-talk with Hornet, sir. I don't know the whole story of what caused this altercation, but after a few pleas from the Grey Ghost and exchanged comments uhm..." She looked over to Hornet, who almost pleaded with Essex not to say anything just through sheer looks and sweat pouring down her body.

"Go on." He spoke sternly.

"S-Sir..." Essex bowed her head, "Hornet attacked Enterprise, sir."

"Unprovoked?" He raised a brow. She bowed her head, embarrassed, then nodded. Hornet stared, wide-eyed at the girl, then swallowed empty. She understood Essex, she really did. This wasn't throwing anyone under the bus, especially when your commander turned out to be a just a bit more of a soldier than you'd expect. The Chief hummed, scratching his chin, then said "CV-8, USS Hornet... You'll tell me what happened first. Be as impartial as you think you can be... I'll get both sides of the story anyways."

"Sir," She nodded, feeling a knot in her stomach "Enterprise came to me to talk, sir. I rebuffed her attempts and she kept trailing me, demanding that we talk... I and her have nothing to talk about..." and that garnered a sad look that Chief barely caught onto from Enterprise, followed by a slight tilt of her head forward. Chief allowed Hornet to continue with a nod and the girl spoke "After some more failed persuasion attempts, she made a comment I took offense to, regarding me being unable to listen... After she's been on my nerves while I was trying to eat my food, that comment set me off. I slammed my tray into the back of her head, sir."

"And you're telling the truth with fairly little remorse." Chief spoke "I'm amazed."

"Sir, I want to..." She almost whispered, wanting to continue.

"Enough, Hornet. CV-6, Enterprise, you're next. Tell me exactly what happened." He looked to Enterprise, who seemed shocked.

"I... Sir, everything Hornet and Essex said is true. I won't deny any of it. I was ready to continue the confrontation..." She seemed more burdened by this "I should've just left the issue alone, but I couldn't."

"Leaving an issue big enough to cause an outburst and possible confrontation of this kind to simmer is not a way to proceed, CV-6. Wanting to talk is normal, but striking back and being ready to fight, however, is _not._" He shot back, looking right through both of them, before adding "You two are sister-ships. I don't know what happened between you and I wanted to find out and stop it before it got to this. Due to the fact Enterprise was tight-lipped about it and that I did not summon Hornet earlier to discuss this matter, I am partly to blame for this."

"Sir." The three girls started

"Quiet." He said again, his tone stern, "I'm not done. I am partly to blame because I've seen all the signs of this kind of issue coming since I first arrived here and did not press the matter. _However, _the fact that this confrontation even occurred in the first place is because of whatever unsolved issues you two have. And if you are unwilling to talk it out..." He shot a pointed glare at Hornet, which got a yelp out of her, before he continued "Then a fistfight may just be a good idea."

A few gasps and murmurs. Belfast stepped up and whispered "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think this is a good idea! These two were ready to tear each-other's throats out moments ago!"

"Your concerns are noted, Belfast." He nodded to her. She sighed, bowing her head and taking a step back, side-by-side with a surprised Blue Team and Infinity. He continued "We've had a similar, although admittedly much less pointed issue between Nevada and Tennessee, which was solved with a spar in the ring, with gloves and protection, instead of a fight in the middle of the cafeteria. Unlike that scuffle, however, I and Blue Team will be the only members of the base staff present in the gym during this fight, to ensure that someone is there to intervene should things become too heated. Either you two will talk it out immediately after the fight, or later, but you will release this pent-up aggression without killing each-other..."

"Sir!" The two girls nodded

"And after this fight... I'll think of some sort of punishment befitting of this." He warned "Everyone else, dismissed! You two, with me and Blue Team. We're heading for the Gym."

Hornet and Enterprise looked to one-another, worried, before following the Chief and the Blues out. All the other Kansen continued their meals, with Infinity and Belfast entering now to grab snacks. They looked to one-another, concern brewing over the event from just a few moments ago. Bel knew Enterprise had seen much. Too much for her own sake.

She only hoped that Chief's idea _would _work. Fingers crossed, as the yanks would say.


	20. Red Like Roses

Graf had barely managed to dodge out of the way of Sovetskaya's artillery. The shell sent a jet of water high up into the sky as it detonated, almost mirroring the image of the bombers raining hell on the Northern Parliament Fleet in Graf's mind. Two torpedoes caught her from the left, high-explosives and shrapnel sending the Carrier back, staggered and almost dead. Her clothes tore at the seams and her Rigging burned.

Kii took up positions in front of Graf. Her Rigging's secondaries tracked the destroyers, delivering shell after shell and trying to keep the little bastards from closing in. Drawing her Nodachi, the girl cut another of Sovetskaya's shells in half, before putting the blade forward and taking a combat stance. Her main guns roared, shells landing just around the Parliament's flagship, followed by Destroyer torpedoes narrowly missing as Sovetskaya advanced.

"Gangut! _Davai!" _They heard Chapayev yell as the two charged from the other flank, with two dozen other destroyers. Kii swore to herself in Japanese, before picking up Graf. Two surviving IJN destroyers dragged Hipper back toward them under constant harassment from Grozny's sister ships. Kii, now with all the weight of Graf on her shoulder, barely managed to dodge Gangut's hard-forward charge.

The ship, however, swiveled about with a grin on her face and breath reeking of Vodka. She pummeled Kii with her main guns before pulling back to Sovetskaya's side as the Japanese Battleship swiped forth with her elongated blade. Gangut laughed heartily, then asked "Compensating for something, comrade!?" before feeling Sovetskaya's heavy hand fall on her shoulder. The girl nodded to Sovetskaya, taking a step back behind the Battleship and still wearing her horrifying grin.

Sovetskaya glared at the remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Fleet the enemy had sent forth, then growled "Traitors of the Crimson Axis. You have attacked the Northern Parliament's territorial waters. You have harassed, bombed and killed civilian convoys, transport and even cruise ships high in the Fjords that are defended in union by us and our Azur Lane comrades. Most horrifying of all, you have _sunk _our sisters in arms... In the name of the Parliament and the power vested in me by the Grand Northern Navy, I declare your lives forfeit..."

She twirled the sword she wielded in one hand, then said "Surrender and die with _some _honor."

"To hell with that..." Kii chuckled, charging forward and bringing her blade down on Sovetskaya's head. A loud screech of steel against steel echoed across the North Atlantic, blades sparking as they made contact. Sovetskaya pushed the blade away and rammed her hardened fist right into Kii's throat, sending the girl staggering back and out of breath.

"Very well..." Sovetskaya said, sheathing the blade and aiming her cannons.

A droning noise rung in the girls' ears and the first to gaze up was Grozny. With a gasp, the girl cried "Stukas!" as the first bombs fell from the undercarriage of the Iron Blood's standard torpedo and dive bomber, splashing down in water inaccurately. Sovetskaya looked up, directing the Triple-A on her rigging to let loose, before turning to a hobbling Kii and her Crimson Axis allies.

Gangut moved to follow, but Sovetskaya put her hand up, stopping her and staring impassively at the enemy as they left. Gangut looked up and spoke "Comrade Sovetskaya, if we let them go, they will only lick their wounds and return!"

"I understand your concern, Gangut. But we cannot engage... Not anymore." Sovetskaya murmured, looking past the retreating mass of broken ships, toward the horizon. She pointed toward it and all the girls saw was a line of other Kansen that you could only make out were Iron Blood. With one particularly nasty example, whose rigging resembled giant, coiled iron dragons with heavy cannons trained on them, standing not too far away, where a major sea storm started to brew, black clouds hanging over them like an axe aimed for the Northern Parliament's head.

Sovetskaya hummed, then said "We return to Helsinki. Care for our wounded comrades."

"Yes, comrade Sovetskaya." Chorused the entire fleet. The woman looked back one last time at her Iron Blood counterpart in the Atlantic, then grinned at her. They'd cross cannons soon. Not soon enough for her opponent, though. As Graf and Kii hobbled back to the line with their fellow wounded, a Light Carrier stopped them, taking a knee to check on their wounds.

"You look like hammered _scheisse." _She commented, pushing a bit of ginger hair out of her emerald eyes.

Graf growled "You don't look much better, Richthofen... But sadly for you, that's just you..."

The dainty carrier who flashed a grin at the girl was also an experimental, much like the commander of the Navy to their right. The KMS Heinrich von Richthofen, whose namesake was also named the 'Red Baron' for his exploits in one of Earth's greatest human-on-human conflicts, helped Kii carry the wounded Graf to the back lines, only stopping to look back at their fleet commander. Amber eyes burned with a desire for payback for the humiliation of the best Iron Blood carrier, but at the same time, the woman seemed content to let their foe leave alive for today.

The rest of the ships summoned by the Iron Blood after they had unlocked the secret of the Sirens were mostly experimental Naval vessels, once considered as simple 'paper designs' that would never have fought. The Demon of the Atlantic and leader of this massed fleet of experimentals never once saw combat as a simple warship, only being relegated to a pipe dream in the mind of a madman that ruled a historically-damaged country and that had a bone to pick with their neighbors.

Still, seeing her in all her might, like this, even with the silly red horns and that tight-as-hell outfit... It was frightening to anyone both in the allies of the Iron Blood and among their foes. She was the perfect leader for the Atlantic. As the girls all turned to leave for their port, Richthofen giggled as she heard the dozen-plus of the lot start singing _Wir Lagen vor Madagascar._

... Ah, Nightmares to fight on the high sea and absolute _shit _at singing, save for the Commander.

* * *

Enterprise donned a black tank top with 'CV-6' written in white on the left side of her chest, white shorts with black stripes, a helmet made of foam and fake leather and the boxing gloves as she prepared to enter the ring. She eyed the gathered members of Blue Team inside the gym, all of whom were now clad in full armor. She entered the room, to see a sweating Hornet already waiting in the ring and the Chief off to the side, staring impassively at her.

He noticed and nodded to her, tilting his head toward the ring, arms behind his back and a straight posture. His peaked cap was off his head and in his hands, better revealing his crew-cut brown hair and blue eyes. She swallowed, entering the ring and looking right at Hornet, who now seemed both scared and angry. Chief stepped up to the side of the ring and started "This is a simple rule set. Nothing 'below the belt', in technical terms. It'll go on until one or both of you are knocked out, or you're too tired to go on."

The two nodded to him, both feeling tightening knots in their stomachs. He nodded back to them, then said "Go to the center, touch gloves and go ahead... I'll intervene with Blue Team's help if things get too bad." and, with that, he joined the Blues in the corner, getting a look of concern from Kelly and a stern one from Fred. He wasn't trying to tell Chief off... He knew how badly this could degenerate. Chief did too.

He hoped they'd fix their shit before it got to that.

The two girls approached one another. Enterprise looked up, then asked "Hornet, can we not talk this out?" in a whisper.

Hornet chuckled nervously "What's the matter, Ghost? Getting scared?"

Enterprise rolled her eyes, then said "Don't say I didn't offer..." before they touched gloves. Hornet went on the offensive almost immediately, throwing a haymaker Enty's way. She barely blocked it, now on the back foot as her sister threw punches fiercely. Enterprise was, for all intents and purposes, on the defensive now. She felt Hornet's fists make contact with her own gloves, but at a rapid, sloppy pace and tempo that was not sustainable without a lot of energy. She knew Hornet didn't have it.

She needed to hold back, though. This was Hornet. Her sister. No matter what was happening between them, Enterprise wasn't going to actually harm her for anything in the world. So, when she found an opening in the tempo, she ducked, dodged and weaved, before finally delivering a light uppercut into Hornet's lower jaw. The girl staggered back, but chuckled and taunted seemingly relieved "That all you got?"

"Nope..." Enterprise hummed, before moving fast and trying to take the advantage. She threw a haymaker in a feint to the right, only to hit the girl in the hip from the left. She parried a strike that had some weight behind it by raising both hands up in front of her face. The hit sent her skidding back, however, but she managed to stop. She parried and pushed aside a mean right hook of her sister's, before jabbing at her midsection again, getting the girl to retreat. Hornet was trying to be the 'crowder' here, attempting an overwhelming assault to whittle Enterprise down.

It wasn't working. Chief taught her too well. She was also taught restraint, so that helped just a little in not immediately decking Hornet in the face and calling it a day. She dodged under another fist, before uppercutting Hornet right in the jaw again and delivering two more jabs to her face. Hornet, however, didn't seem to get winded, instead pushing back with a check hook and an overhand that nearly broke the girl's defenses.

Enty fell back into a better defensive stance than before, letting Hornet whittle herself down by throwing punches and only jabbing when she had an opening that didn't leave her too exposed to her sister's antics. Hornet once again taunted, through heavy breaths, "C'mon, Enterprise! HIT ME! You know you wanna!" as she threw hooks, haymakers and her own jabs at the Ghost.

"No, I don't..." Enterprise shot back, bobbing under a right hook and throwing one right into Hornet's gut again, followed by another in the chest.

"They're good." Kelly remarked with a grin, "But Enty's pulling some nasty tricks there."

"She's holding back. It looks like she doesn't wanna hurt her sister." Fred noted, humming thoughtfully.

Linda added "Doesn't seem like it's mutual, though... Hornet's throwing her everything at Enterprise. She'll tire out eventually, right?"

"Probably..." Chief said. _Hopefully, _He thought. He watched as Enty continued her defensive posture, with Hornet continuing to throw strikes her way like no tomorrow. This dance around the ring continued unabated as the girls didn't easily run out of energy. As was nominal for Carriers meant to undergo continuous operation, they had enough to last a good few hours. The Chief put this down at about two at the very least. That was if something didn't change the numbers, shift them in someone's favor. He knew how well he'd trained Enterprise.

Enterprise's defenses weakened. She was tired after about an hour of attacks, while Hornet didn't seem so. _Damn _her mission tendencies, her muscles ached. She should've listened to the Chief from the start. This was horrible. She felt like she was being hammered by artillery, but it felt even worse when she saw her sister's eyes filled with a hatred that Enterprise couldn't explain... Then, it dawned on her... Wasp? York? Was it... About them...?

... Her defense seemed to break. Hornet, sweat draping her from head to toe, now struck directly at Enterprise's core with disregard, hitting hard and fast while her sister tried to process the realization this may've been because of their two other siblings. She staggered after taking a right hook, then fell flat on her ass as she took one right in the chin from Hornet. The blonde grinned at Enterprise. She chuckled, part sad, part angry "I fucking knew it... You're weak, Enty... You're weak now... You were too weak to protect Wasp... Too weak to protect York... You fucked it up for both of us!"

"What...?" Enterprise stared, wide-eyed at her sister.

"You heard me! York is in a _coma _because you couldn't do shit! _WASP SUNK BECAUSE YOU FROZE! It's your fault!" _Hornet screamed, her voice filled with venom, "Because of you, York's stuck in a fucking bed in the medical wing of some Navy Base in San Francisco, Wasp's body is somewhere at the bottom of the fucking ocean and _I AM LEFT TO DEAL WITH IT WHILE YOU GO PLAY THE FUCKING HERO! IT'S LIKE YOU DIDN'T AND DON'T EVEN FUCKING CARE ABOUT THEM!"_

Enterprise bowed her head, clenching her fists as she felt her heart _break _inside her chest. Her hands and lower lip trembled and she felt as if the world had collapsed around her. Hornet growled, then yelled "What's the matter, _Enterprise," _She asked, her voice full of venom "Can't even fucking look me in the eye, can you!? Fucking typical! You turned into a fucking recluse after-"

Everybody in the room _staggered _as they felt and heard the weight Enterprise put behind her haymaker. Hornet's jaw clenched shut and one could swear they heard a bone crack somewhere in her head. Enterprise stood to her feet and, with renewed vigor, she roared a pained roar, throwing haymakers and hooks with no reservations and no remorse. One after the other, in a cadence, fists rammed into Hornet's face like the shells of a hundred cannons.

Enterprise, teeth gritted and a burning _anguish _in her eyes, had pounced on her sister like a lioness on her prey, her fists connecting with all her weight behind them. She grabbed Hornet by the helmet, ramming her 'armored' forehead right into Hornet's, staggering her. She then threw a punch _hard _into Hornet's gut. Hard enough to pin her against the metal bar that made up the corner of the ring. There, Enterprise started overwhelming the girl once again with a tidal wave of fists.

"Christ!" Kelly yelled "John, we have to stop them!"

Enterprise grabbed Hornet by the shoulders and threw her down to the floor. Before she could, however, charge her downed opponent, Chief and Blue Team grabbed her arms and held her down. Enterprise let out an anguished scream at her 'captors', trying to wriggle free of their grip. She hollered as tears started flowing. Hornet stared up at her sister, feeling like she stared at an animal. Or a broken mess...

Enterprise managed to, somehow, break free of their grips, pouncing on Hornet and pinning her against the cords that made up the 'wall' of the boxing ring. She raised her fist to strike her pinned opponent again, but let her arm fall, limp, to her side, instead falling onto her knees, pulling off the helmet and tossing it aside. She fell on all fours and as the first tear plopped up onto the floor, Hornet gasped.

"... Enty... Are... Are you crying...?" She asked with an actual tone of surprise. What had gotten into her...?

The girl glared, looking up, her eyes puffy and red. She yelled through the tears "I've had _enough!_" she threw another punch, then yelled again "Enough of being _told off and ignored!_" and yet again, another punch. "ENOUGH OF BEING REMINDED OF HOW BADLY I _FUCKED UP_!" And she once again pinned her sister against the cords, staring her right in her emerald eyes and breaking down "HORNET, I'VE APOLOGIZED A THOUSAND TIMES OVER! I'VE BEEN KILLING MYSELF FOR THESE PAST FEW MONTHS, TRYING TO ATONE! I KNOW I CAN'T! I LOVED YORK MORE THAN I THOUGHT I COULD LOVE ANYONE AND HER BEING COMATOSE **_HURTS_**! I STILL HAVE VIVID NIGHTMARES ABOUT THE FIRST TIME WE RAN INTO THE CRANE SISTERS! I STILL HEAR WASP'S _FUCKING **SCREAMS**_ IN MY SLEEP AND I CAN _**NOT**_ TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

She slammed the girl once more against the cords. The wide-eyed blonde Yorktown sister stared with disbelief. She barely uttered out an "Enty..." before her sister started again.

"Sis, do you have any idea how**_ bad_ **it hurts to not only see my older sister comatose and stuck in bed, or being there to see the youngest one of us get killed when I know I could have done something to help, when I _**was caught off-guard**_, but to also have my young sis, the only family I have left standing stare at me with that kind of hatred? That _seething hatred_ that you only feel for your worst enemy, your worst nightmare, or _yourself_?" Hornet staggered at that last bit, staring right into the eyes of the broken woman, the true _Grey Ghost. _Her lost sister. And she, too, felt her heart shatter.

"Meanwhile, I have to put up the facade of the unflinching,_ uncaring_ **Grey Ghost**, because of _fucking **morale**_? There was a point, my_ lowest_ point, where I went out on near-suicidal missions, yearning just for the sweet release of death, before coming to my senses and _fucking fighting_ because I knew morale would **_plummet_**! I'm meant to be the beacon of stability for an entire Army fighting against eldritch terrors and I don't even have the mental stability **_not_** to throw myself into the grinder until the enemy gets that one lucky bomb or shell on me and it's game-over..." The girl's voice grew lower and lower until it was but a whisper.

"... I'm supposed to be the fucking Hero..." Enterprise whimpered, shaking her head "I'm just a broken mess... And I needed someone to confide in... But there wasn't _anybody..._"

Hornet swallowed, pulling her own helmet and gloves off her head. She looked into Enterprise's eyes, then started "Enty..." Her voice compassionate, tired... Remorseful... "I'm so... _So sorry..." _as the first tear flowed down her cheek "I... It must've been _awful_. And... I never got the signs. I never... I was selfish... I was such a selfish bitch. I'm an awful fucking sister..."

The realization struck Hornet like a hammer as she broke down "_I'm sorry!"_ and only gasped as her sister yanked her into a tight embrace. The two knelt onto the floor and wept together under the watchful gazes of the Spartans. Chief sighed in relief, releasing that one breath he'd been holding since Enterprise went berserk. He nodded to the Blues to follow him and the four walked out, only to find Bel and Infinity listening in by the door. The two gasped, staggering, before saluting quickly. Chief looked to both of them and... For the first time in a very long time... He cracked a small smile, giving them nods.

Belfast sighed in relief, then peeked inside, watching the two sisters hug it out after _months _of tension.

She looked to Infinity before closing the door and letting them have their moment to rebound and recover...


	21. The List is Born

Giggling echoed across the halls of Azur Lane's headquarters. Turning off the classical music from her earphones and taking a pause from cleaning the Chief's unoccupied room, Belfast poked her head out into the hallway. Curiosity soon turned to joy and a cheeky smile formed on her face as she saw the most endearing sight to date. Lady Enterprise walked side-by-side, a genuine smile on her face. To her left, walking in step with her, Hornet giggled as she recalled a tale that occurred between her and one of the newly-arrived Kansen. Not Essex, though.

Belfast ducked back inside, silently closing the door and slipping her headphones back on, before continuing to clean with a genuine smile on her face. It had been a few days of intense therapy between the two girls with the fleet shrink. Sadly for Langley, that had turned out to be her job outside teaching the younger warships how to do their work very well. Belfast chuckled, dusting the desk, then sighed as she saw the bed that had been unoccupied for the better part of these same days of recovery for Enterprise.

... It was time for phase one of the Operation to begin...

Meanwhile, Enterprise and Hornet's familial chatter got the attention of all kansen they passed by, garnering smiles out of most of them as they finally saw the two together. It'd been very long since their last proper, friendly chat. Enterprise even looked like she stifled laughs every time her sister hit a beat of the story that was more hilarious than the other. It was refreshing to everyone around. And for morale.

Turning the corner, the two entered the Chief's office, finding him at his desk, surrounded by Blue Team. He spoke to his fellow Spartans calmly "... Command has finally answered that call for Marine drill sergeants to be delivered to Pearl, so you will be cooperating with them in teaching the Azur Lane's fleet the more advanced tactics and combat acumen we've been taught. Maybe get Infinity to help... Aside from that..." He paused, upon noticing the two women. They saluted, smiles still on their faces. He simply saluted back, waved them forward and continued "You've got your orders. Kelly, do go easy on the destroyers... And watch out for Ark Royal... I don't like the way she acts around them."

Enterprise and Hornet snorted.

Chief nodded, then finished "You're dismissed, Blues... Take care. I'll see you in the mess at 0300 for lunch."

"Sir." They all saluted, before turning to leave. All but Linda wore unmistakable, sly grins on their faces as they marched toward the door. Hornet waved awkwardly to them, eyes locked on Fred. Enty nudged the girl in the elbow, before getting a raised brow from the slightly-blushing carrier. The Chief looked to them, then showed them to take a seat on the couches.

He hummed, arranging a stack of paperwork just as Enty noticed he was on his second large bag of the Death Wish coffee, with a steaming cup sat on a coaster to his right. Then, he turned to them and said "It's good to see you ladies in a good mood after Wednesday's little incident." wearing his poker face. He looked toward the stack of paperwork that was still incomplete to his right, then added "However, don't think that you're out of the woods."

"... Uh..." The two girls paled a bit. Enterprise started "Let me guess... We're actually receiving punishment."

"Yes." John nodded, taking another paper "You're both assigned to base cleanup duty for the next two weeks for starters, meaning you're assisting the Maid Corps... Hope you like maid uniforms..." and he could hear the internal wincing of the two, before he continued "Second, you will be present at _every_ course _and _after-course Fred is holding for advanced command and combat tactics. I know that groundside combat is completely different from aquatic warfare, but some of the tactics he's going to go through transpose well enough... Third. You _will _be active at EVERY PT meeting held by Kelly, meaning you will be working alongside the Destroyers, Light Carriers and Light Cruisers... And finally, Hornet, since you started the altercation, you will assist Hood with anything she needs while she and Linda teach sniping skills to our Battlecruisers and Battleships. She is still partially incapacitated, but able to move around in a wheelchair... And once she is physically able, she will also join you in this."

"... Oh." The two had all color drained from their faces.

"We'll be dead in the water by the time we finish all of this... And I still have to help you with paperwork..." Enty murmured, horrified.

"Mhm." John looked past the brim of his cap and Enty could swear she saw a smirk form on his face, "And we still have sparring classes as well. You have a full program, ladies. I'd get to it." and he nodded to them, dismissing them without another word. The two girls swallowed empty, before standing up and walking toward the door. The two sighed, shoulders sagging, before they looked to one-another and chuckled.

(Somewhat) merrily on their way to start their job, the two girls were yet again noticed by the cavalcade of Kansen in the hallway. Laffey, Javelin and Unicorn stopped, with the former giving a small smile at the sight and saying "They're friends again... Good..."

"After last Wednesday, I'm amazed." Jav smiled too "I'd have thought they'd be at even worse odds... I guess the Commander really does know what he's doing."

Unicorn chipped in "The Commander seems kind... We don't see him too often, though..."

"No, no we don't." Jav smirked "Not often enough."

"Mhm." Laffey nodded absentmindedly, "Let's go... Food."

Infinity was herding her 'kids' like they were cats when she noticed the two sisters smiling and laughing. The UNSC Kansen smirked, then murmured "About damn time you two started acting sisterly..." before she turned to her girls and said "Alright, ladies! Guess what! We're all gonna be getting training from BLUE TEAM. So, if you ever wanted to be way more badass you already are... Well..." She smirked, "We gon' get it."

"Hoo'rah!" Cheered the UNSC Frigate gals.

"Oh, fuck yeah!" Canberra raised her fist to the sky, "About damn time we got some good work done here!"

"Canby, calm down..." Sighed Tokyo "I swear, you girls. C'mon, let's grab our PT Gear and haul ass. I'd bet that Fred and the others are about to start up on it." before she grabbed her protesting Australian sister by the forearm and dragged her along. Across from them, a few of the Fletcher Sisterhood destroyers watched the unfolding Sci-Fi Kansenfuckery with muted awe.

Foote hummed, then said "Well... That's interesting. Y'all remember seeing them around?"

"I mean, they're the owners of those massive Riggings floating just above us." C. Ausburne observed "Pretty cool gang, really. Played Volley with them."

"Canby is spooky, though..." Spence whimpered, hiding behind Charlie.

"Oh, she just swears like an actual sailor. Pays that she's Australian." Chuckled Fletcher, "Come, girls. Let's not miss classes."

"Aye aye, big sis!" Chorused the girls.

"And _for God's sake_, Bache, put on normal clothing."

"No." Bache shot back, grinning.

Fletch sighed dispassionately "Christ, it's like I'm herding cats with you girls..." as they all neatly lined up and marched forward. 20-odd Fletchers out of a hundred-seventy-five. Nobody wanted to know how an entire fleet of them could so easily be fed and cared for, but one would have to remember their wartime service. Swarm tactics are the name of the game...

Trailing back to the Uni-Laffey-Jav trio, Laffey mused "... He's an alien... You saw the briefing too, Javelin... Right?"

"If I recall correctly, yeah." Jav nodded, then she stammered "B-But the Commander looks human! How can he be alien?"

"I just figured..." The girl murmured as they walked on, then she looked to Jav and Unicorn and asked "Wanna check? I have a camera on me..." to which the two Royal Navy girls gasped. Laffey pulled the digital camera out of her hoodie's inner pocket, waving it in front of them and tilting her head. She then said "C'mon... He won't do anything to us if he doesn't see us... I want to see if my theory's right."

Javelin sighed, her friend's desire for knowledge having already transmitted to both her and Unicorn. This was dangerous and stupid. The man had punished Enterprise, Hornet and Lady Hood for disobeying orders, she didn't know what he'd _actually _put them up to, but she didn't want to find out. Yet, here she was. The two young Royal Navy gals followed their Eagle Union compatriot toward the door to the commander's office.

They peeked up, with Unicorn whining quietly "Laffey. I'm not certain this is such a good idea anymore..."

Laffey didn't answer, narrowing her eyes and looking at the Commander as he... Wrote up paperwork? Nominally normal role, usually assigned to Prince of Wales before the Chief came along. The man that had come to be commander was doing a commander's work. It didn't deter Laffey, though. She sat there, waiting to find an intricate detail to see what the Commander really was.

"I bet he has some hidden power..." Laffey murmured "You girls?"

"Laffey... C'mon..." Jav sighed, then peeked through the window too, "Most I can see him doing right now is writing up the paperwork for the base..." before she looked over to the man's left, to see two empty bags of coffee beans. She raised a brow, then murmured to herself "How much coffee does he drink, though?" and she noticed a still-steaming cup off to his side. She looked to Laffey, then whimpered "Oh, no..." at seeing the girl's face.

Laffey 'grinned' maliciously... Or, well, her face morphed into whatever passes for a grin from the sleepy destroyer. She brought the camera up, zoomed in and shot, wincing as the entire, already-bright room lit up with the flash that she'd forgotten to turn off. Going paler than even her hair and with eyes wide as saucers, the now fully-awake Laffey saw the Commander's head shoot up. He stood up, locked eyes with Laffey, then furrowed his brows. He looked at the pen in his hand, before throwing it.

One broken window and pen in a wall later, Laffey, Jav and Unicorn screamed in surprise. Chief raised a brow, then walked up to the door and propped it open, to see the trio of youngster ships staring with disbelief at the strength with which Chief had managed to throw that damn ballpoint pen. He looked at the wall for a moment, then murmured "Huh. Plaster walls...?" then he turned to the girls and said, "You three are in luck. Only one week on cleanup duty, helping the maids. But thanks for reminding me... I need to set up some sort of List so that you girls know how to behave."

"Oh." He stopped before re-entering, then said "Next time you want to ask me about my service record and my species... You can just enter the office. I said I had an open doors policy, did I not?" And, upon receiving nods from all 3, he nodded back and said "Dismissed," slamming the door shut behind him.

"... Well..." Laffey shrugged, her voice at a higher pitch from the fright. She took a picture of the wall and broken window, then stood up and said "Let's go eat before I do anything else to piss him off..."

"Agreed!" The two British ships yelled in unison, before all three bolted out of the place. Chief had sat himself down back at his desk with a sigh, pulling out another ballpoint pen and wondering how he'd even managed to punch through both at least half an inch of glass and a wall with nothing but a ballpoint pen. He wasn't even throwing that hard. And he wasn't wearing his armor.

Oh, well. One more for the maintenance team...

Meanwhile, Enterprise and Hornet had arrived to where Kelly was;the base's training course. Already, they could make out destroyers and Light Cruisers testing their mobility with the heavy Riggings by running over and under obstacles. Sometimes even through, if Samuel B Roberts's performance was anything to go through. Kelly turned to meet the two new arrivals, then smirked and said "So... Chief give you girls the punishment?"

"Yup..." The two sisters spoke in unison.

"Alright." Kelly nodded, then said "How about you two start with a short run around the base, then you come back here with your rigging, to run the course?" She asked. Rhetorically, of course. They couldn't refuse even if they wanted to, so, with a sigh, the two girls started their lap around the entire Azur Lane base, with Kelly turning back to supervising the Light Ship training.

As they ran, Hornet chuckled and said "So... You and the Commander, sis?"

Enterprise looked to her sis, raising a brow "What?"

"C'mon! The whole war hero shtick with him and you! You're a lot more alike than you'd like to admit." Quipped the blonde as they ran together, "He's easy on the eyes, too!"

Enterprise rolled her eyes, then said "Neither of us has the time for anything of the sorts, Hornet. We're in direct command of the entire coalition, remember? Plus, it's just professional courtesy."

"Oh, c'mon, sis, you seriously can't see it, can you?" Hornet chuckled, only noticing the deadpan stare Enterprise gave her as they ran. The blonde shook her head, then looked straight ahead to run without hitting anything. Enterprise, meanwhile, was deep in thought, running at the same pace as her sister. What had she even meant when she said she and the Chief were...? She turned to the girl, raising a brow at her.

"What do you mean 'a lot alike', Horn-_OOF"_

And of course, she wasn't paying attention to the road. She'd slammed, front-first, into a pillar that was in the way and fell flat on her ass. Hornet gasped, going to help her sister. The blonde chuckled, lifting Enty up and placing her cap back on her head, before saying "Sis... Even after months of not talking to you, you're as easy to read as an open book." With a dumb, but proud grin on her face.

Back with the Chief, he looked over the paper he had on his desk. He'd started out writing the first rule of what he felt was gonna be an impossibly long list. He looked up as he heard glass crackling under heels and saw Belfast entering, eyes wide. She jerked a thumb back and asked "How in God's name did a pen get embedded in that wall, Chief?" to which the man sighed.

"You have Laffey, Javelin and, surprisingly, Unicorn to thank for that and the broken glass. I overheard their chatter about me being an 'alien' by the door, but shrugged it off... Until a flash from a camera took my attention to them." He explained, leaning on one hand, "The broken glass and the pen in the wall are courtesy of that little event. Perhaps an overreaction from me, yes, but they took photos without my permission."

"... Okay..." Was all Belfast could say. "... You... Do know that is a _concrete _wall, right, sir?"

Chief blinked. Huh.

"You didn't..." Belfast went by Chief's on look of slight surprise. She hummed, bowed, then said "I'll clean the glass outside your door, sir... Then, I'll find the young ladies and have a chat with them about privacy, even within the office." and exited the place, murmuring about Spartans 'not knowing their own strength'. And she would be right about that. They'd spent so much time in armor that some may h_ave _forgotten how strong they are.

Still, Concrete.

Man, that would be hard to explain.

He called out "Belfast." and she poked her head through the broken window. He nodded to her, then said "You mind printing a few copies of this and handing them to the girls?" and extended the first 'rule' to be added to the list... "And remind me to write up a req form for personal tablet computers so I don't have to use the pen and paper analogue. While I'd love to keep sensitive documents out of enemy hands, I'd be glad to have something to help me organize better."

"Yes, sire." Belfast smiled, entering the room again and taking the file. She looked over it, then chuckled and murmured "Oh, this thing will _grow_..." before turning to the Chief again and adding "May I suggest that you also provide the girls with at least personal communication devices? I believe they're called 'smartphones' nowadays. Way less bulky to carry around versus tablets."

Chief nodded, then dismissed the Maid to her assigned work, before pulling out three req forms.

_This was going to be a long command..._

* * *

**_IN THE ATTENTION OF ALL ACTIVE KANSEN AND BASE PERSONNEL WITHIN THE JOINT PEARL HARBOR BASE, AZUR LANE PACIFIC COMMAND, HAWAII;_**

**_A RULE SET HAS BEEN STARTED BY THE COMMANDER OF THE PEARL HARBOR BASE WITH INTENT TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONAL NORMALCY WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE BASE. IT WILL BE EXPANDED AS SEEN FIT BY THE COMMANDER AND ACTING STAFF AND IT WILL BE ENFORCED VIA PUNISHMENTS SURMISED IN THE MILITARY CODE OF CONDUCT. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM CREATING ANY MORE SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE THE EXPANSION OF THIS SET OF RULES_**

**_"The List of Things Involving Kansen and Staff That Are No Longer Allowed"_**

**_RULE 1. Yes, the officer commanding Azur Lane's centralized efforts in the Pacific is also called the Master Chief. Yes, the Chief comes from an alternate reality and has experience fighting monsters similar to the Sirens. No, you may not film, photograph or otherwise document while he's working on the req forms you put out to see if he does anything 'alien'. Unicorn, Javelin and Laffey can attest to the man's accuracy with a ballpoint pen, as well as his strength._**

**_RULE 1a. Addendum:Belfast did not appreciate having to clean the glass from the hallway just outside the Chief's office._**

**_RULE 1b. _****_"How did that pen embed itself so deep into the fricking wall, Purii~!?"-Head Bulin of the base maintenance crew._**

* * *

**_AN:Guess what, boys and girls..._**

**_Inspired by those of XCOM and the Kantai Collection variation, "The List is" here. And it's gonna be an expansive running gag for breather chapters..._**

**_Don't worry, Ghost and the Eagle will remain a semi-serious fic, but we need sequences of comedy to escape the grim darkness of the not-so-distant future where there's only shipfus fighting aliens._**


End file.
